Cloud In The New World
by TomThorpe
Summary: It's been a year since Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE defeated Sephiroth in the Northern Cave. Still feeling responsible for the deaths of Aerith and Zack, Cloud visits the overhanging cliff that houses the Buster Sword and is transported to Spira by a force that he is familiar with. Cloud has a new mission, a new group of friends to look out for, a new Sephiroth to stop.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1 -** _ **The Beginning**_

Cloud stood over the broken and depressed city. The smell of mako filled his nostrils although the foul stench wasn't so bad for him for mako is in his blood, I guess you could say he was used to it.

He stood next to the Buster Sword hand on hilt as he thought over and over. How could he have been so weak? All he could do was watch as his best friend, Zack, (and one of his only friends from his time with Shinra) was shot to death by the people who were once their allies. Maybe it hadn't sank in the first time, the same thing happened with Aerith. Praying peacefully all he could do was stand there and gape at her while the silver haired madman Sephiroth brought his sword down on her and stab straight through her back. "Why does this happen to me?" Cloud questioned to himself quietly. He often spoke to himself, maybe he just hoped he could hear his two closest friends voices one more time.

As his hand left the Buster Sword images of destruction and evil came to his mind. The evil grin of Sephiroth pierced his mind. That bastard had taken everything from him and he refused to stay dead. Cloud's sky blue mako eyes suddenly turned green and his pupils narrowed causing him a great deal of pain. Struck by this peculiar and sudden pain he fell to his knees where everything allof a sudden turned white and his eyes closed shut.

The sound of birds and the sea filled his ears as he awoke. Cloud was on a beach..."Where am i?" he said only to be unexpectedly answered by a girl. "You're in the isle of Besaid." the girl said cheerfully. "Besaid? How did I get here?" Cloud thought as he held his head. "Umm..Sir are you alright? You seem...lost." the strange girl said. Cloud didn't realise it but he had been staring into space for quite a while. He examined the girl, she had two different coloured eyes one blue and the other green. They were nice. She didn't look old maybe about 17 18 give or take. "I'm fine." Cloud replied as he flipped up from the ground which seemed to startle the girl a bit. "Well that's good to hear. My name is Yuna by the way." She seemed to have a sense of determination in her but also a kind of sadness, Cloud was quite familiar with this. "Cloud" He replied. Yuna got rather confused after that which made Cloud grin a little, just a little. "My name. It's Cloud" "Oh! I'm sorry! It's nice to meet you Cloud." Yuna replied. She could feel her cheeks going red. How embarrassing! "Well Cloud," Yuna continued trying to make her blushing less obvious than it already was " Why don't I take you to the village so you can rest and have something to eat you seem tired.". Cloud only realised his exhaustion when Yuna pointed it out which was odd considering he hadn't done much.

Getting to Besaid village was easy. Cloud took care of all the fiends they came across with one swipe of his sword. Cloud's sword looked odd Yuna thought. It seemed as though it was incomplete almost as if there were more swords that should be inside it somehow. Yuna decided not to dwell on the thought she was more interested in the sheer size of the blade. Cloud didn't seem overly strong with his lean body however he lifted it as though it was lighter than a feather. Upon further inspection of Cloud she noticed a certain glow in his deep blue eyes as well as a lot of pain hidden within them. His spiky blonde hair went off in every direction however it wasn't scruffy it was surprisingly neat. The man wore all black with one arm sleeveless and the other completely covered by a sleeve. As they finally got to Besaid she noticed a red ribbon peaking through his sleeve which was clearly a memento to someone. "So how about a tour?" Cloud said in his calm manly voice which quickly shook Yuna out of her daydream. "A tour? Yes, well, um.." the tour would have to be put on hold as Cloud found himself falling to his knee. He was completely drained out but from what? The rest was a blur as he was taken to a hut and put on a bed by Yuna with the help of a woman dressed in black. The last thing he heard before dozing off was the sound of the woman's voice. "Why did you bring him here when you..." then the words just turned to sound as his eyes closed.

Nightmares. Nothing new just the same memories from his past. However these memories were interrupted by the sound of a woman's voice. "Cloud? Can you hear me?" it was Aerith he knew it however he was unable to respond. "Cloud this world needs your help. I believe you've already met the summoner to be from Besaid. You must help her on her pilgrimage to defeat Sin, however you must make sure she doesn't die or Sephiroth may succeed.". Cloud tried to open his mouth and speak to ask her what Sephiroth's plan was or why HE needed to help the summoner or just to simply have a conversation with her, but he was ripped away from his dream by the sound of a...sneeze?

Cloud opened his eyes slowly although he was more alert than he let on to be. When he opened his eyes he saw those miraculous blue and green eyes staring back into his. He noticed that he had no shirt on and his sword was tucked away in the corner of the hut. "So I fall asleep for a few hours and i need to be bathed?" Cloud said to Yuna with a smirk on his face trying to hide his sadness from hearing Aerith's soothing voice. "Oh, I uh, I didn't, that wouldn't, Lulu was the one..." Yuna was turning very red and she could feel it maybe if she just changed the subject..."Actually Cloud you've been asleep for a few days. Me and a few of the other women on the island have been helping you recover.".

Cloud let that settle in for a moment. It all started to make sense he was so tired because he travelled to another world. How though was still a mystery however he suspected it had something to do with Aerith Zack and the lifestream. Cloud started to sit up until he realised that Yuna was pushing against him. "Stop lay back down, you need your rest!" Yuna exclaimed. This made Cloud's lips flicker a bit with amusment. "I'm fine. Trust me" was his reply. Although she wanted to argue it was useless as he was already standing up. "Well then now that you're up why don't we go and see Lulu then I will show you the rest of the village!". Yuna started to pull Cloud out of the hut before he could even grab his shirt. His mako eyes took sometime to take in the sudden sunlight and he even found that he was stumbling a little. Looking around the village was quite small and quaint. He also noticed the women who were giggling in his direction. Yuna knew that they were making comments about his muscular body and even she had to admit it was hard not to stare.

Yuna quickly realised she was staring until she noticed Lulu coming over to them. "Yuna he should be resting not walking around the village" the black mage said in her sharp voice. "Yes I know but-" "I'm fine. The name's Cloud by the way." "I'm well aware of your name many of the women won't stop talking about you. Frankly it's quite annoying.". Lulu looked at his blue mako eyes and saw a strange glow in them which made her slightly wary which was unusual for her. "I'm Lulu." she said before quickly walking away. Lulu seemed rather cold she reminded Cloud of Vincent. "She's...cheerful" Cloud said in a sarcastic manner, this made Yuna giggle quite a bit for some reason. "Hey Yuna!" Cloud looked over to the man who was calling for her. He had ginger hair and wore some kind of sports uniform. "I have to go, but why don't you take a look around yourself and meet everyone?" Yuna said to him. "Alright."

Cloud wasn't really interested in meeting anyone here so he went back to the hut took his sword and put on a shirt. He then proceeded to the beach where he first washed up. Looking out across the beach filled his head with questions about this place. Not one person had any piece of technology which made him wonder what kind of place he was in. Was everywhere on this world like this? Did they really not have any kind of machinery? Perhaps he was overthinking this afterall he had only seen Besaid maybe the other places had technology and this was just a small exception. As he stared across the glimmering ocean all he could think about was his friends back home and his adopted son Denzel. Although he would never admit it he cared for all of them a great deal, they were like family.

Panic filled Yuna from head to toe as she looked for Cloud. His belongings were gone from her hut. Was this just a cruel joke played by Wakka? She looked all around until she heard a scream. There was a fiend in the village one more powerful than she had ever seen. Lulu and Wakka sprang into action. Lulu cast a fire spell however the fiend seemed to be immune to magic and Wakka's ball was swatted away easily by the fiend.

When Cloud returned to the village he saw people screaming and Yuna Lulu and the ginger haired man were trying to fight the fiend, however their efforts weren't good enough. Cloud had only been here for a few days but he had been craving a challenge. Instinctively he took out his sword and leaped in front of Yuna blocking the fiend's attack before it could touch her. He swiped and slashed his sword causing the fiend to be driven back until it was completely defenceless and that is when he delivered his final blow using his braver attack. Cloud was quite puzzled to see the fiend let off small glowing things that radiated a peaceful aura.

"WOAHHH!" the red head seemed rather impressed with Cloud even though this was just a small workout. It was clear that they had never really seen a strong warrior. "Dat was amazing, ya!" "Hm. It was nothing i couldn't handle" replied Cloud in that cool way he often did. "It's nice to meet ya brudda! I'm Wakka captain o' da Besaid Aurochs and part time guardian for Yuna." Wakka said rather enthusiastically. "Cloud" was his reply cool and simple. "Good to see you're at full strength again" said Lulu. The truth was that he wasn't at full strength yet, he hadn't been for awhile. Maybe that last fight with Sephiroth had drained Cloud even more than he would like to admit. "Cya again Cloud, ya?" Cloud nodded and as Lulu and Wakka walked away his attention was drawn to the angry looking Yuna. She was rather cute when she was trying to be angry.

"Where did you go!? I was so worried! You could've at least left a note!" Yuna exclaimed trying to sound intimidating however she only succeeded in making Cloud chuckle which in turn made her giggle a little even though she was mad. There was something about Cloud that seemed different than everyone she had ever met. "Cloud? Can I ask why do your eyes glow like that?". This seemed to trouble Cloud as she saw a wave of memories run across his eyes. This was clearly a touchy subject. "This is the mark of SOLDIER. Members of SOLDIER are bathed in mako which enhances your physical abilities" Cloud said this however it didn't seem as though he was talking to her so much as recalling a memory. "You were a soldier?" was her question. "I guess you could say that". There was an awkward silence after that it seemed like Cloud was thinking back to his army days which made Yuna regret asking. It clearly bothered him and showed that he had seen a lot of death. "I think I'm going to go to bed" the ex-soldier said as he walked back to the hut.

Yuna awoke to find Cloud walking to the exit. "Cloud! Wait! Let me come with you." Yuna demanded. "Please! I promise not to get in the way and I can show you where all the treasure is!". Cloud muttered something under his breath before motioning with his head for her to come.

"This cave is really dangerous and probably where that fiend came from yesterday" Yuna informed Cloud. "Has anyone been in here before?" Cloud questioned and his response was no. That meant they were going in blind. This took Cloud back to his military days and his military training. "Alright stay close to me and let me know if you see any treasure or fiends" Yuna simply nodded.

Exiting the cave Yuna seemed rather happy about her bag full of treasure. Getting through the cave was easy enough the fiends in there were nothing compared to some of the things Cloud had faced. While in there he was informed more about 'Spira' as Yuna called it. His suspicion was right. 'Machina' was forbidden in Spira which meant he had no way of contacting his friends. Although he had been away for a lot longer than this before so he doubted they would be too worried. Walking up to the village entrance they were greeted by Lulu. Both of them were covered in mud and they were full of green stains. Yuna rushed to Lulu and showed her all the treasure they had found. Lulu could tell that Cloud made Yuna happy. She began to think that the man dressed in black as stubborn as he was wasn't such a bad person after all. If Yuna was happy she was happy. When Yuna had gone to the temple to pray Lulu stopped Cloud before he could enter the hut. "It's nice that you look out for Yuna" she said which Cloud seemed rather surprising. "Oh yeah, well actually I'm here to help with her pilgrimage.". Lulu seemed to be lost for words. Why would this stranger all of a sudden risk his life so Yuna could defeat Sin? She admitted he was strong that was obvious, however this was strange indeed. "You see I'm not from Spira, I'm from a planet called Gaea. I was sent here to ensure that Yuna doesn't die when she defeats Sin.". This comment seemed to get Lulu angry and upset however she also became hopeful. Cloud was the strongest warrior she had ever seen maybe even stronger than the legendary Sir Auron, this gave her hope and she began to like Cloud more and more. "Are you sure? How will you do it?" "I don't know yet. There's still so much I need to find out. About Sin. About Spira. About everything.". Cloud seemed to be wise beyond his years.

As he walked to the hut Lulu realised that his story made sense. He definitely seemed different to anyone she ever met in Spira and if he was so powerful he would be known through out the land. She decided to sleep on this maybe she would have pleasant dreams for once.

Cloud was back on the beach but this time he wasn't thinking he was just taking in the beauty of the sunrise. While returning to the village he noticed that he was being trailed. His hand moved closer to the hilt of his sword, however he knew it wasn't a fiend. It was a sparring match to test if Cloud could keep up and he wasn't about to disappoint. Instantly he turned and pulled out his sword blocking the striking spear. The thing looked a lot like Nanaki except he was blue and stood on two legs. The fight continued until Cloud saw Yuna watching them. He twirled his sword in a complex maneuver which disarmed the blue Nanaki and won Cloud the fight. Admitting defeat he nodded at Cloud in an accepting manner. "This is Kimahri. He doesn't really talk but he's been there for me ever since I was a little girl." Yuna explained to Cloud. "He reminds me of Nanaki." with the silence Cloud realised that he hadn't told her about his friends back on Gaea. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity.

They finally reached the village just as Cloud told Yuna and Kimahri about Cid, however Kimahri seemed to lose interest after he finished his story about Nanaki. At the village Cloud saw Wakka with four other people in the same clothing, no doubt the rest of the Besaid Aurochs. They were all throwing a ball around, but it wasn't a ball Cloud was familiar with. Yuna must've noticed him watching them play "Blitzball" she said, however Cloud was still clueless. They sat together watching them train while Yuna explained to Cloud the rules of the game and how to play. Yuna was called over by Lulu and Cloud thought this would be a great time to play this new sport. "Hey Bubby!". 'Oh great' Cloud thought 'Another stupid nickname'. "Let me introduce you to the team, ya." Once everyone exchanged pleasantries Wakka said "So how are ya at Blitzball may i ask?". Cloud answered truthfully "I've never actually played or even seen a Blitzball game." "Well I'll teach ya,ya!"

When Yuna and Lulu returned they saw Cloud training with the Aurochs and only then did they truly see how physically fit he was. The Aurochs had done 5 laps of the village and Cloud had done 20 laps without even breaking a sweat. Yuna knew that the 'mako' he talked about helped him but she didn't expect it to help him this much. Lulu called over Wakka and he told the team to take a break.

Cloud could hear the three of them having a heated discussion but the noise died down after Lulu said something to Wakka which seemed to leave him speechless much like when Cloud left Lulu speechless last night when he told her about his mission. The three of them came back over and all three were looking at Cloud. "Cloud. You are a powerful warrior that much is obvious" Lulu said "And it's clear you care about Yuna's safety a lot, ya" continued Wakka. The last of them, Yuna, began to speak "I would like you to be my guardian"


	2. The Summoning

**Chapter 2 -** _ **The Summoning**_

A guardian. Cloud could only assume a guardian was a protector. Was Cloud really up for this? After losing Zack and Aerith he couldn't help but doubt whether he could protect anyone anymore. However, he had to except, he needed to help Yuna defeat Sin to stop Sephiroth. "Being a guardian means you will protect Yuna and guide her to the ancient ruins of Zanarkand so she can obtain the final aeon" Lulu explained. There was a moment of silence as Cloud thought to him self. "Hm. I accept." He said although it came out as if he didn't like the idea. "Awight! With bubby on our side Yuna's practically guarenteed to get to Zanarkand!" Wakka exclaimed. "As soon as Kimahri arrives I will go and pray to the fayth to obtain my first aeon" Yuna said although she didn't seem very pleased.

Cloud didn't know what an aeon was. He decided not to ask though so he didn't seem completely clueless, that wouldn't be the best impression as his first day as a guardian. It was almost noon when Kimahri arrived and by then Cloud had figured out that an aeon was kind of like a summon from over hearing the people of the village talking about it. He wondered if any of his summons were aeons. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. He Yuna Lulu and Kimahri entered the temple. Wakka had said he wouldn't be joining them he had to train up the Aurochs for the big cup match in Luca. Getting through the cloister of trials was easy enough for Cloud. Simply touching glyphs and rearranging spheres was child's play, it was a lot less confusing than the time he went to the Temple of the Ancients. Before Yuna entered the chamber he wished her good luck and to his surprise she gave him a crushing hug before quickly entering. The three guardians sat around the antechamber and waited. That's all they could do considering they weren't allowed in.

Lulu joined Cloud who had been sitting on the stairs just a few meters from the entrance for quite a while. "She cares about you a lot,you know that right?" "I kind of guessed from the way she hugged me." Cloud replied "She feels safe around you. She seems to think you're her guardian angel." Lulu said with a small chuckle as she spoke. Hours passed by and Cloud knew it was night. This is something the ex-soldier knew instinctively from his training. Kimahri was silent as always with his eyes shut however it seemed more like he was meditating rather than sleeping. Lulu had begun to experiment with her magic in the corner while Cloud remained on the stairs. Just then Wakka entered with some blonde kid who was gaping. "What are you doing here?" Lulu said in a sharp and aggressive tone. "Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?" "No, it's uh...it's just... See I told you she gets mad easy" He said to the blonde kid.

"Is the summoner alright?" he said in a curious manner. "What are you doing in here?" Cloud asked in an intimidating voice. This clearly shook the kid up and Cloud's presence obviously made him uneasy. The door opened and out came Yuna stumbling. She took another step and fell. If it wasn't for the mako and Cloud's military training Yuna would be on the cold floor however she landed softly into Cloud's arms. "Satisfied?" he said in a soothing voice. She nodded and said "I've done it. I've become a summoner!". After that her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Cloud picked her up easily and carried her like a baby out of the chamber and back to her hut.

When the man in black exited with the summoner he turned to Wakka and said "What's that guys deal?". This seemed to make Wakka laugh. "You gettin' scared of Bubby over there?" Wakka asked still chuckling away, however Lulu's scold soon shut him up. "Let's just go. We'll talk about this later Wakka" Lulu said sharply. The four of them exited the temple. Tidus felt like he just got Wakka in trouble which made him guilty as Wakka had only been helpful ever since he got here. "So who is this 'Bubby' then Wakka?" Tidus asked curiously. "His real name is Cloud and he's only one of the most powerful warriors I ever seen, ya!" Wakka replied with great enthusiasm. "He's like you ya know. He also washed up on the shore of the beach. Yuna found him there and looked after him until he recovered, I guess now he's trying to return the favour, ya.

Tidus saw Yuna and Cloud exit the hut and noticed the entire village was here. "Watch" Yuna said to Cloud gently pushing him in the direction of the other guardians. Tidus looked up at the intimidating man. His eyes glowed which Tidus found suspicious and unearthly. Noticing that Cloud was glancing at him he quickly turned away and put all of his attention on Yuna. The summoner was performing a dance, no maybe a ritual.

As Cloud watched Yuna he saw symbols and glyphs appear. It kind of reminded him of summoning using materia although when using materia a ritual isn't needed to summon the beast, they just simply appear. A regal roar ran across the sky that was heard by all the villagers. A winged beast came from the clouds at a tremendous speed then opened it's winged causing it to slow down and land next to Yuna. Valefore is what she called it, a summon Cloud wasn't familiar with. She then waved it off in a dismissive motion where it then flew up back into the clouds.

Looking up at the night sky Cloud realised that all the stars were out. It took him back to that starry night at the well in Nibelheim with Tifa. He would never forget the promise that they made. Even though he wasn't in the same world as her he would still try to keep that promise, she was like a sister to him and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her especially not after- "Cloud?" the sound of Yuna's voice shook him out of his deep thoughts. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine. I was just admiring the fire the rest of the village had built" he said trying to keep his feelings hidden away. "It is rather impressive. Come sit next to me over here, the kids really want to meet you!". It was strange hearing that. He'd only been here for what a week and he was already a role model for the children. They were eager to see him and he could tell they were fighters by the looks in their eye.

"Um. Hey kids" Cloud said. "Hello Mr. Cloud!" they all replied. It was funny, he never thought he would be called Mr. Cloud. "Will you teach us how to fight!?" one of them said. "Please!" another spoke up and soon enough every single one of them were begging to be taught. "Heh. Alright then. Now before any warrior can fight he or she must have a weapon, so why don't we make our own weapons first!" "Yeah! Ok!" the children were hyper from excitement. Yuna loved the way Cloud could connect so easily with the children. She watched for a bit while Cloud made his own sword from bamboo and helped the others with their bamboo weapons. She was snapped out of her daze by the shouting of the elders and one of the kids. "You heathen!" "Stay away from the summoner" "You're a bad man!". Yuna went over to them and assured them it was alright. She then proceeded to talk to Tidus.

Cloud had just about finished his bamboo sword when he noticed Yuna talking with that blonde kid. Cloud knew the kid didn't belong just like he didn't. He saw this from the way he talked to the way he dressed. While he wore a biltzball uniform like Wakka it was clear his was much older than Wakka's. He decided not to dwell on the thought and returned to helping the kids who were ready to start training. "So tomorrow then" Yuna said to Tidus. "Uh..tomorrow?" was the awkward reply. "We're going on the same boat to Luca aren't we?" "Oh yeah Wakka seems to think I'll find someone I know there but i doubt it." "Lady Yuna come help us defeat Cloud the monster!" a little girl exclaimed with excitement. Yuna nodded and turned to Tidus. "So tomorrow, we can talk more. You can tell me all about Zanarkand.". Yuna looked over at Cloud and sighed with happiness as he blocked in coming bamboo weapons. She ran over to him and jumped on him causing him to fall on the floor and all the kids piled on top. Everyone was laughing apart from Cloud who seemed like he couldn't breathe which made Yuna laugh even more.

Once the kids went to their huts for some sleep Cloud stood and walked towards the Aurochs. They were all chanting a new team slogan. "Victory! Victory! Victory!". "Seems like you guys are in high spirits for the Crystal Cup." Cloud said. "Ya with this blitz wizkid, Tidus, on our team there's no way we'll lose!" "Hm. You speak very highly of him. Let's just hope he can deliver" Cloud responded in that cool way of his. Tidus seemed to conjure up the courage to ask Cloud a question. "Uhh do you play blitz Cloud, uh Mr. Strife, sir" Cloud chuckled to himself for a while before saying "Calm down kid I'm not going to kill you for coming into the chamber of the fayth." This made Tidus relax a little "And to answer your question, yes I play a little." "BAH! A little! Don't make me laugh, ya! Bubby over here can hold his breath for 30 minutes and he could probabaly swim better than all of us combined!" Wakka exclaimed over exagerating just a bit. "Then, you should join us! Yeah you should play in the cup!" Tidus said trying to get Cloud to agree. "Hmph. I'll consider your request." Cloud and the Aurochs joked around for a while until he decided to go to the hut and get some rest.

Cloud stood outside the temple with all the other guardians and Tidus while they waited for Yuna. He looked over at Tidus who was standing with Wakka. He couldn't keep still, it was clear to see he was eager for the blitzball tournament and to start the journey. Yuna walked out of the temple with a suitcase. "You really don't need all that luggage" Lulu said. "They're not really my things so much as gifts for the temples we visit" "This isn't a vacation Yuna" Wakka said suddenly serious which was a bit out of character. Cloud spoke up "This is Yuna's journey. She should have the final say." "Ahh. Awight then but you're carrying it Bubby!" Wakka stated with a grin on his face which caused Tidus to laugh out loud in turn caused Cloud's lips to flicker with the faintest hint of a smirk.

Walking to the docks Yuna was slacking behind however Cloud stayed by her side which she was grateful of. She leaned into him and he put his arm around her protectively. She liked that. They stopped half way up the path where Cloud Wakka and Lulu taught Tidus to fight. Kimahri told her he would test Tidus' abilities out further down the path so he continued on. Before continuing Wakka and Cloud prayed at the small monument followed by Tidus. Cloud stared at it for a while almost as if he recognised it. He often stared into space, probably thinking about his other world. This is something she would have to ask him about on their way to Kilika and Luca. They continued down the path and just like Kimahri said he was going to test Tidus' abilities. The fight was already half way done when they got there however it wouldn't have a victor as Wakka stopped it. "What's that guys problem!?" Tidus asked full of adrenalyne. "Don't feel threatened. Kimahri's just seeing if you can keep up with us. He did the same thing to me, you should feel welcomed." Cloud said. Yuna admired Cloud so much he was always so confident and sure of himself. "Sometimes we don't understand him either. He doesn't talk much but he's protected me ever since i was a child." Yuna explained.

They reached to docks and Cloud took Yuna's luggage and carried it onto the ship with ease. He glanced at Yuna and saw tears in her eyes. Cloud walked over to her and hugged her "Go ahead and cry. I won't tell anyone.". Yuna then buried her head into his chest as she cried. The two of them walked over to the edge. "Goodbye Besaid." Yuna said with a sob as the ship set sail. Next stop Kilika.

 **Please review so I know how to improve! And also favourite and follow if you're enjoying the story they give me a lot of encouragement! :-)**


	3. Kilika

**Chapter 3 -** _ **Kilika**_

Being on the ship reminded Cloud of his days with Shinra. It reminded him of all the times he suffered due to his motion sickness, however because of the mako he no longer got motion sickness. He leaned on the rail staring out at the sea recalling his army days with his glowing sky blue eyes fixed in place shimmering from the sunlight. Cloud tore himself away from his memories and decided to take a look around the ship. There was plenty of room and to his surprise the boat was running on chocobo power. Back up on the deck he saw Yuna on her own. He walked to her side. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Yuna said looking out at the sea. Cloud nodded "The way the sunlight hits the water makes me think of the lifestream. That green tinge is just amazing." Yuna seemed confused by this comment and Cloud realised he was in Spira they didn't know what the lifestream was.

After Cloud had explained Tidus came walking towards them. "Hey Yuna, Cloud. What you guys up to?" "Oh, nothing really." Yuna answered. "We're just taking in the sight of the sea." Cloud added. Tidus looked over the side. "I bet this is nothing compared to Zanarkand. I heard that the lights never went out and the city was always full of life." Yuna said. "Oh yeah? Who told you that?" "A man named Jetch, he was one of my fathers guardians." Cloud looked at Tidus who seemed troubled by the name. "What's wrong kid? You look angry." Cloud said to break the awkward silence. "My old man, his name was Jetch". Hm just a coincidence Cloud thought however when Tidus explained his Jetch went missing ten years ago and Yuna explained her Jetch showed up ten years ago even Cloud had to admit that was pretty strange.

"Sin!" a crew member cried out in fear. Cloud looked out at sea and sure enough there was the enormous creature swimming towards Kilika. "What are you doing!?" Cloud exclaimed when he saw a crew member reaching for the harpoon gun. "If you manage to pierce that thing when it goes under we will go under." "But our families are in Kilika...We have to try and stop it.". Cloud remained silent before moving away from the gun. They fired and Sin had been pierced. The ship rocked uncontrollably causing many to fall. He looked around instinctively scanning the battlefield. Lulu was sending people below deck while Kimahri, Wakka, and Tidus were fighting off fiends. Yuna was behind him with her hand in his. Cloud could feel her trembling with fear. He picked her up and ran with her towards Lulu where he put her down and began attacking fiends.

Whenever they defeated one lot of fiends another wave would take their place. Cloud knew what had to be done. He leaped into the air towards Sin's fin and started slashing and hacking away at it. After he dealt a few good blows he kicked off of the fins and back flipped onto the deck. Sin was in pain however it was able to release itself from the harpoon guns and sent a wave of destruction towards Kilika. They had lost. To make matters worse Cloud had seen a familiar silver haired man floating near Sin which he decided to keep to himself, there was no need to make Yuna and the others worry even more.

That was Sin. Yuna was terrified. How could she defeat something so powerful and destructive? Cloud was so brave and strong. He was one of the most powerful and skilled warriors she had ever seen. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him breathing heavily.

"It's alright. It's gone now." Cloud said in a soothing voice. "Come on we need to tend to the wounded" Yuna nodded in agreement. While she treated Kimahri's wounds Cloud went over to Tidus to bandage up his arm. Tidus winced when Cloud wrapped his arm so hard. "Don't be a wimp" Cloud muttered to him. "I'm not a wimp!" Tidus argued which made Cloud chuckle a little. "Look you did fine out there you just need to work on your technique and analyse your opponent before you attack them." Cloud said. "If you want I could give you a little lesson or something." Tidus nodded "I'll be learning from the best then" he said with a smirk. "Hm. Obviously." Cloud said in a sarcastic tone and although his face didn't show a grin or smirk Tidus could tell he was fighting it away.

"Hey Cloud, can you tell me more about your adventures in Gaea?" said Yuna. "Ya, let's hear your story. I bet it's crazy ya!" Wakka followed up. There was a moment of silence and everybody was looking at Cloud. "Alright. I came to a city called Midgar, which was full of machina and controlled by a power hungry orginisation called Shinra, funnily enough they were who I was working for in the army. Anyway as a mercenary I was asked by a group called AVALANCHE to help them take down one of the mako reactors..." Cloud continued his story and the ship arrived at Kilika just as Cloud got up to the incident at Wall Market. He would have to skip this part...

Yuna got off the ship and looked around at all the destruction and death. No one spoke everyone just looked around in horror. As a summoner it was Yuna's duty to send the dead to prevent them from becoming fiends and so they could rest peacefully in the farplane.

Cloud looked at Yuna who seemed to be getting ready to perform some kind of ritual. "Hey, what's a sending? Are we going somewhere?" Tidus asked curiously. Although Cloud didn't know what a sending was either he knew better than to think that. "You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?" Lulu asked impatiently. "The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on filling with envy and resentment for those still living. In time that envy turns to anger even hate."

Cloud sat on this for a moment. He thought about the people he had killed back on Gaea. If Gaea was anything like Spira instead of making the world better he would've been making it worse. Things like this made Cloud doubt himself and made him question whether his actions were right. He watched Yuna perform some sort of dance which must have been apart of the sending. It was a beautiful dance however it was filled with sadness and despair. All the families watched as they said their final goodbyes to family members and friends. Once the sending was complete she stumbled towards them and fell into Cloud's arms. "I hope I did ok." Yuna said to Lulu. Lulu replied with a comforting smile "I'm sure they're resting comfortably with their families. No more tears. Next time will be easier."

Cloud helped Yuna to her room and as soon as she lay down on the bed she was sound asleep. Cloud went to his own room where he found that Tidus and Wakka were already asleep. His mako eyes glowed and pierced through the darkness of the room, however they were becoming heavy and kept closing. Soon enough he was laying in his own bed where he fell asleep instantly. "Cloud?" Aerith's voice echoed in his head. "You did well today. Don't let the death of these people discourage you." "Don't forget that you also allowed some of them to escape." another voice echoed, it was Zack's. "Sephiroth was there. I could see him near Sin's head. What's his plan?" Cloud questioned. "We can't tell you that bud. Unfortunately you have to figure that out for yourself." Zack answered. Aerith spoke up "We'll try to help you when we can but it's just how it works." "But I-"

"Cloud? Cloud!?" Yuna's voice awoke him pulling him away from his dreams. "Get up sleepy head! I'm surprised I woke up before you especially after the sending." "I guess the fight with Sin drained me more than I thought" Cloud said. "Come on let's get going!". The two of them met with the other guardians and they were ready to head for the temple. "Wait." Yuna said rather suddenly. "I'd like to say something. I want Tidus to become my guardian." "You what?" Lulu said sharply. "You hardly know the man and you want him to be your guardian?" "Lu's right Yuna he may be a wizkid when it comes to blitzball but when it comes to fighting fiends he's a newby, ya." "Then not a guardian I just want him nearby. I want my journey to be full of laughter." Yuna countered. "What do you make of this Cloud?" Lulu asked as if to say help us out here. To their surprise Cloud didn't say anything he just went into the woods with a blank face.

To tell the truth Cloud didn't care about Tidus being a guardian. It bothered him that Yuna wanted him around though. Why would she be interested in someone 6 years older than her? Tidus was the same age as her it only made sense that she was more interested in him. However the main reason he left the group was to clear his thoughts about Sephiroth. He needed to fight something to remove the anger from his system.

Yuna had been looking for hours and hadn't found Cloud anywhere. It was only when Wakka called them all over that she had seen him for a while. He was fighting a gigantic Ochu. "Man, bubby seems really mad, ya" Wakka observed. They all ducked as a piece of tentacle flew their way. "What do you think it's about?" Yuna asked. Once again they were forced to duck however this time the entire body of the Ochu flew over their heads. Cloud hadn't even broken a sweat. "You guys set up camp I'll talk to him, ya"

"Yo, Cloud what's up?" Wakka asked. Cloud wasn't sure how to respond so he didn't. "Is this about Yuna wanting Tidus to be a guardian?". Cloud sighed "Partly" "Talk to me about it, ya" Wakka said sympathetically. Cloud told him that he had feelings for Yuna which he found easier than he thought it would be. He said that he felt like Yuna wanted someone more her age. "That's not true, ya" Wakka assured him. "Yuna doesn't like Tidus like that. I can tell.". This put Cloud at ease a little. "Now what's the other part?" Wakka asked. Cloud was unsure whether he should tell him. Would he get worried? Would the others be able to handle it? "I think I should tell you later. Everyone should hear it." was Cloud's response. "Alright then. Anyway why don't you tell me more about this other planet of yours, ya?"

Cloud and Wakka approached the camp where Cloud had just finished telling Wakka about the false Nibelheim incident where Cloud was the 1st class SOLDIER. "Are you alright?" Yuna asked who seemed very concerned. This made Cloud smile a bit "Yeah. Listen, I'm going to tell you all what was bothering me but you need to relax. Don't panic." Everyone's attention was on Cloud. "Back on Gaea there was a man named Sephiroth..." Yuna could tell that this was causing Cloud a lot of pain. He finished his story about this Sephiroth and about all the horrifying things he had done. She couldn't believe how much he had made Cloud suffer killing his family, burning down his hometown, almost killing his best friends Zack and Tifa and finally actually killing the woman he loved Aerith. Terrible. Sephiroth is too terrible. Lulu spoke up "Cloud why are you telling us this?". Cloud was silent for a moment. He sighed "Back on the ship when we were fighting Sin. I saw him. Sephiroth is on Spira."

Cloud's comment made everyone silent. He knew their spirits had gone. Why did he put them in this position? This wasn't their fight. Cloud decided that when the time came he would be fighting Sephiroth alone. "Look I didn't mean to put everyone down. I just thought you should know. Anyway with the 6 of us going against him there's no way we'll lose" Cloud lied. "Ya! We'll beat that Sephiroth into da ground!" Wakka exclaimed boldly and enthusiastically. "That's right!" Tidus joined in. The rest of the night was full of laughter and enthusiasm. Little lights were everywhere. Cloud wondered what they were. "What are these things?" Cloud asked as the lights all drifted towards him. "Pyreflies" Yuna replied. "Pyreflies are an ambiguous, naturally occurring phenomena and are closely linked with the lifeforce of beings by being the form that disembodied spiritual energy takes." Lulu explained. "However I've never seen them gather around one person before like this." She continued. After Lulu's explanation Cloud knew why they were gathering around him. He was transported here by the lifestream, a stream of pure spiritual energy, it only made sense they were attracted to him. "Well they need to move because...ACHOO!" Cloud sneezed which caused the pyreflies to move away quickly and made everybody laugh, even Kimahri and Lulu were laughing.

Nearly everybody was asleep now only Cloud and Yuna remained. "Cloud, I know you were lying about fighting Sephiroth together." "... I have to do it on my own." "But why!? We can help you!" "Please, Yuna. I don't want to put anyone else in more danger than they already are. I've lost Zack, Aerith and nearly Tifa. I don't want to lose you as well." Yuna leaned into him. "You won't" Yuna said in a soothing voice. They sat there for a while wrapped in each other's arms looking into each others eyes. One set blue and green the other sky blue and glowing in the dakrness. A few minutes passed and they both fell asleep.

When Cloud awoke he noticed that his hand was in Yuna's. He gently removed his hand and stood. "I guess I'm the first one up" he muttered to himself. With nothing else to do he took out his sword and began training. It had been some time since he had fought anything powerful and he realised just how much that had affected him. His muscles were aching and he was tired. Sin had shown Cloud that he needed to train again, however he was unable to train effectively against these weak fiends. There was an alternative though he pulled out his summon materia and called forth Choco Mog. If he was training himself back up he might as well start with the weakest.

Yuna and her guardians awoke to the sound of fighting. They got their gear ready and found Cloud fighting some kind of muscular giant with no irises only the white of his eyes were able to be seen.

After defeating the summons up to Ramuh Cloud began to struggle against Titan however by using the paralysis ability from his cross slash limit he won the fight. "What did I tell ya Tidus! Best warrior ever, ya!" Wakka shouted in triumph. "No kidding! That was amazing!" Tidus followed up. Cloud didn't realise he had an audience. "It was nothing." "I've never seen that fiend before." Lulu said "Oh it wasn't a fiend, it was one of his summons." Yuna said answering for Cloud. "Wait a minute. How can Bubby summon? He didn't pray to the fayth." Wakka said "And I've never seen that aeon before" Lulu continued. Cloud sighed and showed them his materia. After explaining the different types of materia and what they did the guardians seemed to settle down and accept this response.

After gathering their things they continued through the woods and to the temple. Even after Cloud's training session he could still take out the fiends pretty easily. When they were half way there he stopped Tidus and gave him a few tips on how to fight. "Before swinging for an attack you need to make sure it's safe. If your enemy is expecting the swing they will simply dodge it which will leave you defenceless giving them an opening to strike you down." Cloud continued to speak while Tidus listened. Once they were done they carried on down the path and Cloud let Tidus handle the fiends so he could practice. Tidus and Wakka just finished off one of the fiends when Wakka said "So bubby, how about you continue your story about the Temple of the Ancients, ya?" "Hey that reminds me. How come you believe that Cloud's from a different world and I'm not!?" Tidus complained. "Cos bubby has his materia. Ain't nothin' like I ever seen before it could only be from another planet. When you get your proof maybe I'll change my mind, ya." Wakka teased.

"Ok. Here we are." Wakka stated. Cloud looked up at the seemingly endless stairs which seemed unnecessary, however made it look aesthetically pleasing. Once again he hadn't been paying attention. It looked like all the males bar Kimahri were getting ready for a race. Cloud liked a bit of competition so he decided to join in. "Ready?" Yuna seemed like she was joining in as well. Cloud took his place next to Yuna and Wakka "Set?". Before anyone could react Yuna bolted up the stairs leaving everyone in a state of confusion. "Huh? Wait!" Tidus shouted as Cloud and Wakka started running leaving Tidus and the rest of the Aurochs behind. It was easy enough for Cloud to lose Wakka and he quickly caught up to Yuna thanks to the mako coursing through his veins. He picked her up and carried on running both of them were laughing. It had been a while since Cloud had laughed like this. Something about Yuna made him a happier person. "Cheaters never prosper" Cloud said sarcastically. "But you have mako, so you cheated as well!" Yuna was barley able to get her words out she was laughing and giggling so much.

Their alone time was cut short as they heard screams coming from below. Cloud drew his incomplete fusion sword and ran with Yuna to the battle. "Sinspawn" Lulu said while using her magic to try and make an impact on the shell of the creature. Wakka and Tidus were taking on the vines while Kimahri helped Lulu with the shell. "Keep your distance and if you have to try summoning Valefore." Cloud told Yuna who nodded in acknowledgement. With the main blade of the fusion sword in hand Cloud leaped and struck the shell with a force so powerful it cracked and shattered leaving the creature exposed. A few hacks and slashes later and the battle was won. Something wasn't right. As everyone put away their weapons Cloud kept his in hand with a tight grip. His pupils narrowed and his eyelids were wide open. "Are you alright Cloud?" Yuna asked in a worried tone. Instinctively Cloud rushed to Yuna and held up his sword to stop an incoming slashing sword. It was silent. However this was broken by the familiar voice "It's good to see you, Cloud.". Sephiroth. Cloud thrust his sword upwards and slashed only to cut through the air as Sephiroth jumped out of the way expecting this counter attack.

Sephiroth's eyes were pure green and his silver hair shone in the light. His black clothing seemed to absorb the light like a black hole. Yuna felt the evil aura coming from him and all the anger and hatred Cloud had for him. Everyone was silent as the man looked at them all. "Sephiroth! What do you want!?" Cloud questioned with anger in his voice. "Hahaha. Straight to the point, I see nothing has changed." Sephiroth mocked. "What I want is to destroy this planet with the help of Sin. When I take control of it I will kill every man, woman and child of all races. Once they all die the pyreflies will gather in the same place, the Farplane. I will be waiting there to absorb the power. With so much spiritual energy the very fabric of space and time will split. This will allow me to continue destroying any planet I want, even your precious Gaea Cloud.". Yuna couldn't believe the silver haired maniac.

Cloud couldn't stand it any longer. "Shut up Sephiroth!" He lunged for him only to slice through the air yet again. "Hahaha. I have important things to attend to. For now I'll leave you with Mother." he said with a smirk on his face. Sephiroth flew up into the air and a piece of Jenova was left behind which was destroying everything in sight. Wakka Tidus and Kimahri charged for it but were immediately hit away. They were out for the rest of the fight. It was just Cloud Lulu and Yuna. Cloud lunged and attacked. Many of his attacks were blocked, however he managed to land one blow. He kicked off of Jenova and landed next to Yuna and Lulu. Lulu started to cast spells to distract Jenova while Yuna healed Cloud using cure. A possible winning strategy came to Cloud's mind. He channelled his anger and used his limit break Blade Beam which caused Jenova to take some damage and stunned her a bit which gave Cloud the opening he needed to deliver the final blow.

The boys just began to come to. "That was rough, ya" Wakka groaned. "No kidding" Tidus added. "Sephiroth. He had such an evil aura." Yuna said. They were all in silence. How had Cloud defeated this man three times? Yuna knew he was a strong warrior but she didn't know Cloud was that strong. "How are we gonna beat that guy?" Tidus asked with fear in his voice. "We will. I've beat him before and I'll do it again with your help." Cloud replied. "Let's just try to stay positive" he continued trying to lift everyone's spirits. They got to the entrance of the temple and walked in however they were not the first to get there. The priests and monks were bowing to a summoner who had just come back from praying to the fayth. She had dark skin and barley wore any clothing. Her guardian was short and stocky, he didn't seem like he was educated very well but as long as he was good at fighting that was fine. The woman walked straight towards Yuna.

"A summoner are you?" She said. Cloud could tell by the tone of her voice that she was threatened by Yuna. "My name is Yuna. From the isle of Besaid." she responded trying to sound tough. "Dona, so you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to." The summoner said while looking around at the guardians. When she looked at Cloud he gave her a look that told her to hurry up and leave. "My, my, my...And all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! As I recall Lord Braska had only two guardians.". She clearly didn't take the hint. "Quality over quantity my dear. Whatever were you thinking?" Cloud looked at the rest of the guardians and saw them discouraged. He found himself chuckling. "What's so funny chocobo hair?" Dona said to Cloud which made the team step away in fear Cloud might attack the woman. "You say quality over quantity Dona, however it doesn't seem like you have either." Cloud said coolly. "Ha! Barthello could take you on with one leg and one arm, you're nothing." Cloud smirked and said "How about we make this interesting?" while slowly pulling his sword out from it's sheath.

Yuna stepped in and said "I'm sure your guardian is just as powerful as each of mine Dona. It was nice meeting you.". She hoped she broke the tension. Dona grunted and walked off with Barthello following behind. "Don't do dat ever again, ya! Gave me a scare brudda!" Wakka said to Cloud. While Yuna admitted Cloud shouldn't have made an enemy in Dona she had to say that Cloud defended her and her guardians well. "Sorry. I just can't stand people like that." was Cloud's reply. They passed through the cloister of trials and when Cloud walked Yuna up to the entrance of the antechamber he looked around and gave her a kiss on the cheek when no one was looking. "Stay safe" he whispered in her ear as she turned and entered the antechamber with a smile wider than anything on her red face.

Wakka had stayed up top with Tidus as Tidus wasn't a guardian yet and was too clumsy to be left alone. This left Cloud Lulu and Kimahri waiting for Yuna to exit just like the first time in Besaid. Cloud sat on the stairs and stared at his newly aquired sword. Jenova had dropped it when he defeated her and he took it while the others were climbing up the stairs. Upon a more detailed examination he realised that it was the hollow blade. This was a part of his fusion sword and increased it's strength when it was combine with the main blade. He sheathed both weapons keeping them seperated for now. Cloud sighed as he waited. It had been three hours, maybe four and Yuna finally exited. She stumbled however she stayed on her feet unlike last time. Cloud supported her and helped her walk. The four of them exited the chamber and then the temple with Wakka and Tidus.

It was night, however the ship was still ready to sail. Everyone had gone to their cabins to sleep apart from Cloud who remained on deck. As he stared at the ocean in the darkness thoughts of fear and worry washed across his mind. Sephiroth was here. He had thought it was some kind of nightmare but it wasn't. The monster would never stop coming back. He wanted to destroy Spira, Gaea and all the other worlds that were unknown to Cloud. After contemplating possible battle strategies Cloud realised that with Sephiroth and Sin there at least one of them would die. Cloud couldn't let anyone here die, if it had to be anyone it would have to be him. He wasn't going to put anyone at risk anymore especially not after what had happened earlier that day. The boys were too easily defeated and the girls didn't stand a chance. With one final look at the memorising ocean Cloud blinked, his mako eyes still glowing, and went to his cabin to sleep.


	4. Luca

**Chapter 4 -** _ **Luca**_

Cloud walked up on deck and saw everyone was waiting for him. The sky was a big sheet of blue, there wasn't a cloud in sight and the sun shone brightly down on the city. "Yo, bubby! Move it boyo you're late!" Wakka exclaimed in a humorous manner. He walked up to the group and shrugged "Sorry to keep you waiting." he replied. When they got off the ship Cloud looked around and saw all the other Blitzball teams were arriving as well. Luca was full of life and excitement. Vibrant colours were all over the town and everyone had a smile on their face. This was nothing like Midgar. Cloud found it ironic how this city had so much at risk with Sin on the loose however they were all happy, where as Midgar had nothing to worry about and yet it was such a dismal and depressing city. "Ah over there the ships carrying the players are arriving now!" announced a voice coming from multiple speakers. The commentators were full of energy and were buzzing with excitement just like everyone else in Luca. Cloud stopped listening for the introduction of the Kilika Beasts. Kilika was the last place he wanted to think about after seeing Sephiroth and Jenova there. So much destruction in one place, he felt sorry for those from Kilika and hoped they had a good tournament. Cloud was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the commentators.

"Our next team of the ramp is...Well, well, well! If it isn't the Besaid Aurochs!". Cloud thought the way they said that was rather patronising and uncalled for. "They're a living breathing statistical impossibility! I've never seen a team this bad! That's right in twenty three years they've never made it past the first round! Only a few die-hard fans are in the audience today.". The camera was pointed at Cloud Yuna his fellow guardians and a few people who seemed to be from Besaid. Glory hunters. Everyone from Luca supported the favourite team to win. This angered Cloud however he kept his composure and said "Just you wait. The Aurochs are gonna be the new champions this year." while winking at the camera hoping to provoke a few people. Yuna couldn't help but giggle when Cloud did this. She knew it was wrong but it was nice to finally see someone backing up the Aurochs.

Cloud looked at Wakka who gave him a thankful look and Cloud nodded at him. "Here they are folks! Our very own Luca Goers!" The entire city roared and Cloud knew there was a bias support. "They've got power, they've got speed, they've got teamwork!" And they've got idiots Cloud thought. He stopped listening otherwise he might just attack the commentators. The Goers came over to them. "So what's your goal this time? You gonna 'do your best again'?" Bickson taunted. The Aurochs' heads had dropped. People who put others down like that shouldn't be allowed to compete. Cloud's hands quickly turned into fists. "It's too bad your best isn't good enough. Hahaha why even bother showing up?" he continued. Cloud had had enough. "Why don't you shut your mouth?" he said getting right into Bickson's face with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Cloud's glowing sky blue eyes seemed to pierce right through Bickson's soul. Fear came to Bickson's eyes as he stumbled backwards into two of his team mates who then fell over. They all eventually regained their balance and scrambled away which put a smirk on Cloud's face. He turned to find everyone else laughing as well, Tidus and Wakka more than anyone.

"Maester Mika is here!" "Already!?" "The number 3 dock!". A group of people ran past seeming to be excited about someone being here, a celebrity maybe? "What's up now?" Tidus groaned and who was just as clueless as Cloud was. "Mika? Maester?" Tidus said clearly confused. "Maester Mika is the leader of all the peoples of Spira. He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to honour his fifty years as maester." Lulu explained. "Seems like he's been in power for too long." Cloud said. "Hey, mind your mouth now." Wakka responded clearly agitated by Cloud's comment. Cloud knew that something wasn't right about the story but he decided to respect Wakka's opinion. "Sorry, I didn't realise I offended you." "Let's all go see him!" Yuna exclaimed.

The group walked up to the crowd and Cloud was the last to arrive. He didn't like the idea of there being the same leader for fifty years. There would always be the same policy and the same rules, there should always be a change from time to time. Music began to play and a man with blue hair more spiky than Cloud's exited the ship. He seemed to have veins popping out on his face and his expression gave the impression that he thought he was above everyone else. "Isn't that...Maester Seymour?" a local questioned in astonishment. Cloud knew he was trouble. Although the people of Yevon had to like and respect this guy Cloud didn't. To be completely honest he didn't really believe in these teachings of Yevon and he thought they were rather stupid. Everyone should have their own beliefs not forced into this one religion. This Seymour character turned to the boat and performed the prayer. Everyone joined in, everyone except Cloud who was standing at the back with his arms crossed. An old man walked down to the dock and said "People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise Maester Seymour and all of you as well.". Mika finished his sentence with a confused tone as he saw Cloud standing rather than praying respect to him although he didn't seem to say anything to Cloud. Mika continued to speak to the crowd however Cloud had lost interest and started to day dream.

When Cloud snapped out of it Seymour was finishing his introduction and dismissed the people. Then he did something that Cloud hated. Seymour looked straight at Yuna which caused Yuna to look back at him. He then gave her a look as if to say you will be mine one day. Cloud walked next to Yuna and put his arm around her and pulled her away and he knew Seymour was smirking behind him which annoyed him even more.

After Wakka had 'gone over the basics' to quote him Yuna told Tidus that Sir Auron had been seen in the cafeteria so Cloud Tidus Yuna and Kimahri set out to look for him. On their way Yuna had been stopped by many people so they could take pictures with her. "I never knew summoners got this much attention." Cloud said. "Yeah you're really famous!" Tidus shouted bringing even more attention to them. They managed to get past however something happened that sent a wave of emotions across Yuna. They came up to a group of girls and they had seen Cloud on the sphere. They were all over him and there was no way he was getting out of the crowd. Yuna hated this. Cloud was hers, she had already decided that. "Go...without...I'll...up" was all Yuna could hear as Cloud tried to shout something to her. She guessed he would find them later so they carried onto the cafeteria with out him. Yuna was really annoyed with those girls. How could they just take him away like that!? They had only seen him on the sphere and heard him say one thing! Yuna wasn't the jealous type but for some reason she was getting really jealous now.

How could Cloud have been so stupid!? He should've charged past all those girls, it was his fault that Yuna was kidnapped. Lulu had saved him from the crowd and lead him to Tidus and Kimahri where she explained the Al Behd Psyches had taken her. "In exchange for her safe return they want the Aurochs to lose to them." she finished. "How could I have been so careless? Which dock is their ship in?" Cloud asked. "Dock four." Lulu answered. "Tidus you go help Wakka keep the game level we'll get Yuna." "Right!" Tidus said as he ran to the game. "I'll go on ahead." Cloud stated. "Cloud wai-" Lulu was cut short as Cloud had already began running.

With his mako enhanced body he got to the dock in about 3 minutes and drew his sword. He leaped onto the ship and was instantly faced with some sort of machina robot, it reminded him of the Techno Soldier he faced just before he fell into Aerith's church. He slashed fast and hard however he couldn't break through the metal. He drew the hollow sword and combined it with the main blade increasing the strength. Once again he utilised the paralysis ability of Cross Slash and rendered the machine useless. With one big swing he sliced it in half like it was butter. The door opened and Yuna walked out. Cloud ran to her and hugged her, squeezing her tightly. "I'm sorry. I never should've left you out of my sight." he said. "Cloud it wasn't your fault." "It was. I shouldn't have left you." "It's alright. I'm safe so you shouldn't worry anymore." Yuna said which ended the debate. Lulu and Kimahri had finally arrived however they were too late to help. "I'll let Wakka know they can play properly now." Lulu said as she cast a spell and shot it into the air.

When they returned they got the news that the Aurochs won the match, however Wakka was severely damaged from all the tackles. Wakka stood and turned to his team. "I got somethin' to tell ya boys." there was a moment of silence and then Wakka continued "After this game. I'm retiring. I promised myself this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quiting Blitzball. But you know since we're here we might as well win!" "Yeah!". Wakka looked at Cloud and said "I can't start this game so I'll be on the bench. Bubby do you mind takin' my place?". Everyone looked at Cloud. There was no way he could refuse this. He nodded and everyone cheered. "Alright boys let's win this one! Let's make the Goers goners!" Wakka shouted. "Let's blitz!" Tidus followed Cloud left he removed his materia and gave it to Yuna. He hadn't brought that much materia only his standard lightning and ice, his master summon materia and some independent materia. "Good luck" she said to him. Cloud couldn't resist he pecked her on the cheek and said "Thanks"

Cloud Tidus and the team walked to the entrance. "You nervous?" Cloud asked Tidus. "Not at all. There were much bigger crowds in Zanarkand." He replied. Cloud, who had been named captain by Wakka, turned to the rest of the team "Alright boys, let's win this one for Wakka!" "For cap'n Wakka!" they all exclaimed. They entered the playing sphere and swam to the centre to shake hands with the Goers. When they got there the Goers were taunting them, however when Cloud swam from the back and took his place in the middle they quickly stopped. Cloud stuck out his hand to shake Bickson's hand and when Bickson shook it Cloud strengthened his grip to show that he wasn't going to hold back. They both went to their own sides and they were ready to begin. Whenever the Goers had the ball they stayed on the right side hoping to avoid Cloud. This tactic worked for them and they went 1-0 up. Cloud decided that he should go in the centre so he could control the game. The ball went up in the air and came to Cloud who explosively swam straight through the middle. He hit all of the Goers out of the way and shot powerfully. The keeper stood no chance the ball flew into the top right corner and it was 1-1. It remained level until the half time whistle blew.

"That was a good first half guys well done." Cloud said to his team. "Wakka are you feeling up to getting back out there?" "Not quite yet Bubby. I'll let you know in the second half when I'm ready. You pick who comes off." Wakka told him. Cloud nodded and headed for the playing sphere. The ball was thrown in the air and Cloud caught it. Once again he swam through the middle and barged Bickson out of the way. However this was a decoy and Cloud became isolated with four players on him. Cloud wasn't stupid, he would never make it through so he barged past one did some trickery and threw the ball to Tidus who had amples of space. Tidus then shot and scored making it 2-1 to the Aurochs. Cloud got annoyed after that. The Goers were on the attack and Botta made a perfectly clean tackle however the ref gave a penalty to the Goers! Cloud complained and got a yellow card, one more and he would be off. He continued to complain and the ref warned him that he would be sent off if he continued. They took the penalty and Bickson scored. It was 2-2. Something needed to change. Cloud indicated he wanted to make a substitution. Wakka would come on and he would go off.

Cloud ran to Yuna and the others hoping to catch the last few minutes. He sat down and asked Yuna, who still had a red face from when he kissed her, "What did I miss?". She replied "Not much. Wakka is trying to get all the attention to get Tidus free.". The game was dead for a while with the Aurochs trying to find an opening and as Cloud watched his attention turned to a man dressed in red who seemed to be smirking and looking straight at him. Cloud looked back at him with his mako eyes and let him know he wasn't scared. He turned back to the game and Tidus was through on goal. It was two against one. Tidus threw the ball across the goal to Wakka who finished it off beautifully. Everyone cheered and the Aurochs won.

Danger. That was what Cloud thought. He stood up and everyone looked at him as he drew his sword. Sephiroth had decided to make another appearance. All he did was laugh as he raised his arm causing fiends to spring up out of no where. Cloud couldn't go for Sephiroth as that would leave Yuna and the others to fight some really strong fiends. He slashed one as it jumped through the air. He also noticed the fiends were in the playing sphere, Wakka and Tidus could handle it. "Yuna we need to go!" Cloud exclaimed. "But we need to-" "You should listen to your guardian Yuna". It was the man in red. "Sir Auron!?" Yuna and Lulu shouted in surprise. "This is Auron?" Cloud asked. Another wave of fiends attacked, but Cloud, Kimahri and Auron took care of them easily enough. "Yuna. Wakka and Tidus can handle themselves. We need to go!" Cloud said. Yuna nodded and Cloud escorted her out. As they got to the exit they saw Seymour summon a massive aeon. It took out all of the fiends with just an eye! Seymour looked at the destruction the fiends had caused. That man, he would make a powerful ally the guado thought.

The guardians gathered at some kind of balcony that over looked the ocean. Cloud looked around and did a head count once Wakka had returned from saying his goodbyes to the Aurochs. Two heads were missing. The kid and the man in red. He didn't like this. "So this Auron guy. He was your Father's guardian?" Cloud asked. "Yes. He, Sir Jecht and my Father defeated Sin and brought the calm, a time when Sin is gone. Cloud looked over and saw Auron and Tidus coming their way. "Sir Auron!" Yuna exclaimed. Yuna, Wakka and Lulu all performed the Yevon prayer, however Cloud did not. "Yuna. I wish to become your guardian. Do you accept?" Auron asked rather suddenly. There was a gasp of surprise from the others and Wakka asked "You serious?" "You refuse?" "No, no!" Yuna said hastily. Cloud had been analysing the man in question. He could tell there was something different about him. Cloud himself had fallen into the lifestream so he knew when someone was radiating spiritual energy. Auron was dead he knew it, however he kept this to himself. There was no need to bring it up. Yet. "We accept! Right everyone?" Yuna answered. "O-of course. No problem at all!" Wakka said in awe. "Hm. Your desicion Yuna." was Cloud's answer. "But...why?" Lulu questioned. "I promised Braska. And...he comes too." Auron stated rather than asking as he pushed Tidus forward. "This one I promised Jecht.". Yuna welcomed Auron with open arms. Auron began asking Wakka and Lulu what the plan was while Cloud leaned on the rail and stared into the distance.

Seeing Sephiroth again made Cloud realise just how dangerous this trip would be. He could pop up at any moment. "Hey Cloud, can I, uh talk to you about something?" Tidus asked. "Go for it" was Cloud's response. "Uh before I came to Besaid there was this girl who helped me and I'm worried she might be hurt. Is there any chance you could keep an eye out for her on our travels?" "Alright, what does she looked like?" "She's got blonde hair, just a bit shorter than Yuna, she's quite young maybe 16, she wears an oragney top and her name is Rikku." Tidus explained. "Ok. Got it. I'll let you know if I see anyone like that." Cloud said. "Thanks Cloud!"

Cloud turned back to the rail and continued to think. Yuna came over to him and she knew he was down because of the situation with Sephiroth. "I learned to practice smiling when I'm sad. I know it's hard." she said to him. "You shouldn't force a smile. Only smile when you want to, that's when your true self comes out.". Cloud was wise beyond his years. "I never thought about it like that." Yuna said with a smile, a true smile. Cloud soon followed and they were both giggling away. "Let's get going" Cloud said and as they turned they saw the other guardians were watching them. "What?" Cloud questioned "Oh nothing!" Wakka replied winking at Cloud and making a goofy face. "Sorry!" Yuna replied. "Alright then. Now we will go to the temple at Djose."

 **Sorry guys the next chapter won't be out for awhile. There are a few problems going on.**


	5. Djose

**Chapter 5 -** _ **Djose**_

Cloud was the last to climb up the stairs. The smell of mud and manure raced into his nostrils. Green hills were everywhere and made the scenery seem like it was an artist's unique creation. Birds tweeted and the sky was still a clear sheet of blue. As Cloud walked down the Mi'ihen Highroad the group was listening to some old man tell a story. What a bore. Cloud wandered off and looked for some treasure. Many of the people came up to him and gave him things for Yuna to use on her pilgrimage. Most of it was useless, however some of the items could prove to be handy in certain situations. The group had finished talking with the old man so Cloud re-joined them. "Here." Cloud said to Yuna as he gave her the items from the people on the Highroad. "All these people wanted to give me things to help me?" Yuna asked in a surprised tone. "You're their chance at peace, a few sacrifices won't hurt them if you succeed."

Auron, Tidus and Wakka were fighting a fiend when Cloud looked over. Tidus had made a fool of himself yet again as he tried to take out a fiend with a protective shell. The shell caused him to stumble backwards and fall into the mud. Auron simply grunted and proceeded to attack the fiend. Cloud wasn't surprised when the fiend crumbled under Auron's swing, his sword had a special trait that increased it's strength. "Told ya! Sir Auron's one of the best!" Wakka said to Tidus. "I could've done that..." Tidus muttered under his breath. Cloud thought he trained him better than that. The group walked down the path however half way down they were stopped by three people riding chocobos.

"Lady Summoner, I presume?" The first said noticing all the gifts Yuna was carrying. "Yes I am Yuna." "I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights.". Chocobo knights? Cloud was annoyed by this. Chocobos shouldn't be used like this, it wasn't in their nature. "And I'm Elma. We've been charged to guard the Highroad." said the second. The third knight seemed like he was about to say something until Lucil spoke up and told them "There have been reports of a large fiend here with the taste for chocobos. Do take care summoner Yuna if you are to rent any chocobos." "Thank you we will be careful." Yuna replied. The knights turned and dust was kicked up into the group's faces. "I hate them" Cloud said not meaning to say it out loud. "They were rather snobbish weren't they." Yuna agreed.

Cloud looked over and saw Auron chuckling. "Because it's the right thing to do?" he said in a teasing way as he chuckled away. Tidus had suggested that they should go and look for the large fiend which was the cause of Auron's chuckling. "What'd I say now?" Tidus questioned. "Jecht said that a lot too. And every time he said it it meant trouble for Braska and me.". Cloud shrugged "Let's just get going." They must have moved about 50 meters before stopping again so Yuna could test out her summoning capabilities. She put up a good fight but she eventually lost due to her inexperience. The other summoner complimented her skills and gave her a few tips.

Before Cloud knew it it was night. There was an inn, however Wakka wasn't too impressed with it "But this is an Al Behd shop." Cloud shrugged "What's the problem with that?" "They don't believe in Yevon. And remember back in Luca? You were more upset than any of us when Yuna got kidnapped, ya.". Auron decided to speak up "Where were her guardians?". Everyone went silent and Cloud looked down. He couldn't get over how he let her out of his sight. "Sir Auron's just concerned for your health." Yuna told Wakka "I'm not tired one bit!" was the reply. Wakka really didn't like the Al Behd. He sounded like a 7 year old which only added to the impression he had about the Al Behd. "Well I am." Auron stated. Wakka seemed like he wanted to protest but Auron was already walking into the inn.

It was such a beautiful night so they decided to go outside and make a fire. They set up camp along the Highroad and sat round the fire. "So Bubby, tell us more about your hometown. How did you feel when you saw that it wasn't burnt down?" Wakka said to Cloud, who still seemed upset about staying at the Al Behd inn, speaking for the group. "I knew it wasn't real. None of the towns people from my childhood were there. The responses people gave me were robotic and odd, it was clearly a cover up by Shinra." Cloud answered. "Look I'm not in the mood to talk about my past tonight. I'd rather do something else." he continued. "Alright then why don't we see who's stronger out of you and Auron?" Tidus said as though he wanted to ask this question all day. "How about a big training session? Every man for himself, ya?" Wakka offered trying to divert away from Tidus' request. "Alright, I'm up for that." Cloud replied.

Everyone got up apart from Auron who was drinking from his bottle strapped to his clothing. Cloud took out his sword and glanced at Kimahri and Tidus who had clearly formed an alliance. Yuna Wakka and Lulu also seemed to be on a team which left Cloud on his own. It was a gang up. He should've known. "We're about to win this, ya!" Wakka exclaimed. "Nuh uh! Me and Kimahri will be the winners here." Tidus countered. Cloud sighed "Come and try."

Tidus and Kimahri instantly charged for Cloud who was ready for them. He blocked their incoming swings easily and waited for the right moment. Still he dodged and rolled until he saw an opening. With his sword he swung at Kimahri who blocked the attack, however he was sent flying back. Cloud turned his attention to Tidus. He stayed close and hacked away. Their blades locked and Cloud span his sword around Tidus' sword causing it to fly out of his hands. Cloud put his sword on his back expecting Kimahri's attack. He swept Kimahri off his feet and disarmed him. Wakka's ball came in with speed, however Cloud deflected it. Lulu was casting spells and Cloud countered them with his materia. Lulu shot water spells and Cloud countered with ice which rendered the water useless. With Wakka on one side and Lulu on the other they both attacked. Cloud deflected the ball and countered the magic. His mind ticked and he switched positions. He deflected Lulu's ice attack back at her and froze Wakka's ball with his own ice spell. They were done. However, Yuna had been preparing her new summon Ifrit. Cloud rolled out of the way of Ifrit's fire ball and used his ice spells. The stand off with Ifrit consisted of Cloud blocking the fire with his ice until he flipped over a fire spell and slashed Ifrit across the chest. He had defeated everyone. Then Auron stood with his sword on his shoulder. A challenge. Auron charged and Cloud blocked. Cloud continued to defend so he could analyse Auron's fighting style. Auron swung and slashed however he couldn't penetrate Cloud's defence. Unable to read Aurons fighting pattern Cloud took the offensive. He blocked Auron's attack and pushed his sword up. Cloud hacked and chopped at great speed. Auron could barely keep up and Cloud now knew Auron's weakness was speed and agility. Cloud span and twirled his sword and eventually struck Auron's blade causing Auron to lose grip and his sword fell to the floor. Cloud had won.

Cloud turned to see that everyone was staring at him with their mouth's wide open. He did his trademark celebration and sheathed his sword. "Maybe next time" Cloud taunted as the others realised they were gaping. As Cloud walked to his place around the fire he began to worry. There's no way they would be able to fight Sephiroth and survive. They all had their own flaws that Sephiroth would notice a lot faster than Cloud did. This only added to Cloud's reasoning for fighting Sephiroth alone.

The orange glow from the fire placed itself on Cloud's face making his mako eyes emit a blue ray of light. With the crackle of the fire and the laughter of his friends Cloud couldn't help but smile. Although they all had rooms in the inn none of them wanted to leave the camp fire. Cloud headed inside so he could drop his sword off in his room, however he was delayed. Everything turned white and he found himself in a field of flowers. Two people stood behind him. "Nice moves!" Zack comlimented. "Yeah but they aren't good enough to defeat Sephiroth." Cloud replied "Don't be such a downer!" Zack teased. "Shut up Fair" Cloud countered "Listen Cloud." Aerith said speaking up "Sephiroth isn't at his full strength. He hasn't been training. His weakness is over confidence, he won't expect you to be so strong." she continued. Cloud didn't say anything. "By the way." Zack said "A few people have been wanting to see you" he continued as he threw some kind of recording device to Cloud. The room returned to normal and the recording device was still in his hand.

When analysing it closely he realised it was a projector, however it had been tempered with to make it more advanced which was clearly the work of Cid. He placed it on the bed and hit play. An image of three people appeared on the wall. Cloud's lips flickered hinting at a smirk. "Heeeeeey! Where you been?" Barret exclaimed. "Barret calm down. Hi Cloud. Hope you're doing ok. Aerith came to us and said she could give you a message from us." Tifa stated. "Stop being so formal! It's only chocobo head, not the president!" Barret said. Cloud would have to get him back for that comment. The third person was being rather quiet but Cloud was happy to see him, Denzel had been through a lot but Cloud had given him a home and a loving family. "How about you bring us something back Chocoboy!" Barret exclaimed which made Denzels face light up. "Stay safe Cloud." Tifa said and looked at Denzel who then said "Come back soon alright?". Cloud would be home as soon as he could. "Bye Cloud" Tifa and Denzel said, then Barret said "Cya later Chocoboy!". The rest of AVALANCHE must have been behind the camera as he heard a few familiar voices join in with Barret. The image disappeared and Cloud was left alone in the dark.

He left the projector on his bed and returned to the fire. Kimahri Lulu and Auron were talking while Tidus and Wakka were messing around passing the ball and joking around. Yuna was alone at the edge of a cliff looking at the twinkling stars that shone and pierced through the darkness of the pitch black sky. She seemed to be talking into something, a sphere maybe? Cloud decided to leave her be she clearly wanted to be alone. He sat on his own at the fire watching Yuna from a distance to make sure nothing bad happened to her. Yuna's eyes were sparkling and twinkling like they were apart of the stars in the sky. When she smiled all of Cloud's worries were washed away almost as if she was the angel of happiness and joy. Cloud was pulled out of his daydream when he noticed Tidus walking up to her. The kid didn't know when to leave someone alone. It looked like he was trying to make small talk to try and get to know her better. He was barking up the wrong tree. Yuna wasn't interested in guys like that at least that's what Cloud hoped. After the mood had died down and everyone was beginning to get sleepy Cloud went to his room where he picked up the projector and began recording.

 _ **7th Heaven, Gaea**_

Denzel had been asking Tifa to check the projector every hour. He clearly missed Cloud a lot and who could blame him. Cloud has been gone for almost a month now everyone missed him although they would never admit it. Just then Yuffie, Marlene and Denzel came running in with the projector. "He replied! Not that I care you know..." Yuffie said trying to keep her cool. Tifa grinned and said "Then let's play it!" Denzel and Marlene buzzed around with excitement as Tifa and Yuffie set it up. They hit play and the familiar blonde spiky haired man dressed in black appeared on the wall. He sat on a bed with his fusion sword behind him propped against the wall.

"I don't know who's gonna see this first so I'll say it now Barret you are dead when I get back." said Cloud with a smirk on his face, a rare sight to see indeed. "I guess I should tell you guys where I am and what I'm doing here," he continued "I've been sent to the planet of Spira to help a girl called Yuna.". Cloud explained that he needed to defeat 'Sin' as he called it and make sure this Yuna stayed alive so Sephiroth can't absorb the energy of the planet. He told them about the people he had met and the places he had been to. "That reminds me. The next recording you send introduce yourselves, I want the others to be properly introduced to you.". The screen cut to a different scenary and Cloud was walking with some other people. "Those guys over there are Wakka and Tidus. They play a sport called Blitzball which I'll explain later. Hey guys, wave to the camera.". The blonde kid Tidus waved awkwardly while the ginger haired man, Wakka, ran up to the camera and said "Hey friends of Bubby! Next time you send a message why don't you tell us about the 'incident at Wall Market'. Bubby won't tell us what happened so let us know, ya!" with a grin on his face. "God damn it Wakka" Cloud responded. "Over here we have the ever cheerful Auron." the man dressed in red turned to the camera grunted and looked away. Cloud sighed "Always so moody. And finally here are the two ladies of the group Lulu and Yuna." Lulu nodded to the camera politely while Yuna waved shyly. "Hello friends of bubby" Lulu said "Don't hesitate to tell us anything embarrassing about Cloud." she continued. "Why does everyone hate me today?" Cloud complained which made the Spirians laugh and made them laugh as well. A scream could be heard and a monster appeared. Cloud sighed again "I guess I'll leave you there but I'll let you watch me take out this fiend first." he said in that cocky way of his. It was no problem for Cloud and they weren't surprised however the guardians seemed to be awe struck. He picked up the camera and said "Don't worry Denzel. I'll be back soon, I promise" before turning it off.

The image faded and Tifa turned the lights back on. Yuffie Marlene and Denzel were giggling to each other making comments about Cloud's nickname 'Bubby'. "Alright before anyone else says it. I call dibs on telling them about Cloud's cross-dressing!" Yuffie exclaimed with a chuckle.

 _ **Mushroom Rock, Spira**_

The group had been stopped by the Crusaders as they called themselves. Cloud remembered there were two from Besaid who had joined their cause in trying to defeat Sin with brute force. Even Cloud, who's main tactic was to use brute force, knew this was impossible. "Hey you're a summoner and her guardians right? Sorry for the inconvenience." a Crusader said to them. "Why can't we pass?" Cloud questioned "What they didn't tell you? We're bringing sinspawn from all over Spira here. Sinspawn inevitably draws Sin, right? We're going to lure it into a trap." Yeah good luck with that was Cloud's first thought. Cloud turned and noticed a familiar blue haired figure coming in their direction. Instinctively he pulled Yuna close to him and put his hand around her waste with the other firmly grasped on his sword, that was still sheathed. "So we meet again Lady Yuna." Seymour said while giving a look of taunt towards Cloud. "Y-Yes" Yuna replied feeling uncomfortable. "You look troubled is there anything I can do?" "Well..." Yuna looked behind her at the Crusaders that were blocking the way. "I see" Seymour replied already walking to the guards. "Maester Seymour. Let me show you to the command centre." "Hold. I have a request.". The Crusader seemed rather anxious to answer however he replied "Yes, your Grace?" "I need to have summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command centre.". After a bit of debate it seemed as though the guard had given up and Seymour turned to them "It is done.". Cloud hated how Seymour abused his power. "Not interested" Cloud said as he continued down the path with Yuna, his hand still around her waste and his sword hilt still in hand.

Seymour was giving a speech to the Crusaders which Cloud didn't care about at all however the discussion going on between the group wasn't to Cloud's liking either. Wakka was complaining that they were using forbidden machina and that Seymour should stop them. "Why don't you ask him yourself" Auron said. Cloud only heard the end of the conversation as he couldn't take his eyes off of Seymour, he felt as though he did Seymour would lash out and strike him while he wasn't ready. Seymour was coming this way eyes on Yuna. Cloud stepped in front of her and Seymour stopped and looked at Auron. "Ah Sir Auron. It is an honour. I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years." Auron quickly shut him down by saying "I've got nothing to say about it." "I...see. Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian." Seymour said trying to talk to Yuna however Cloud was still in front of her. "What do you want Seymour?" concerned by Cloud's comment Wakka spoke up and asked "Why is your Lordship...presently...present here...sir?" scratching his head. Seymour explained to them why operation Mi'ihen, as he called it, was put into place and explained that it was a chance to defeat Sin. "But, using machina...that's bad, isn't it?" Wakka pressed "Pretend you didn't see them" was the shocking response. Everyone gasp, everyone except Cloud. He knew something was wrong about this guy not just from the way he looked but from the aura he gave off. "Beg your pardon but that's not something a maester should say!" Wakka stated and once again they were shocked by the reply "Then pretend I didn't say it.". Seymour walked away, however Cloud kept his eyes on him until he was out of sight.

As Cloud walked down the path he saw the Al Behd and Crusaders transporting fiends and feeding them so they would draw in Sin. Many of the Al Behd were also getting the machina ready. Cloud looked over at Wakka who kicked one of them and immediately regretted it. "Does he really hate them this much?" Tidus asked Lulu "Chappu, when he left to fight Sin he left behind the sword Wakka gave to him, the sword he gave you. Instead he fought with an Al Behd weapon. He didn't make it." Was Lulu's response. Her voice shook and was down. Wakka started talking to them trying to claim that wasn't the reason, however Cloud knew better. Cloud and Yuna were at the front and they were faced with Lucil. "Ah summoner Yuna, there you are. The command centre is this way." she said. It was as if she thought they were one of her soldiers and Cloud hated it. "We'll go when we're ready." Cloud responded "But you need to-" "We don't need to do anything. We aren't one of your soldiers." Cloud said interrupting Lucil who had quickly walked away. They walked to the centre and were greeted by another maester, Maester Kinoc to be exact. He spoke to Auron like they were old friends. Despite the pleasant greeting Auron acted as though Kinoc was some kind of monster.

The group was informed on the plan and Cloud knew that it would never work. Nevertheless it was worth a try. With all these fiends and sinspawn around Cloud was on full alert with his hand close to his sword and himself close to Yuna. "Yuna if anything happens I want you close to me or any of the guardians, I don't want you on your own so stay close to someone." Cloud told her. Yuna replied with a nod and just as she did one of the sinspawn broke free. Cloud's reflexes took over as he drew his sword and leaped towards the beast blocking attacks to make sure everyone was safe. Cloud took the leader role and shouted orders to the guardians. "Lulu and Wakka focus on the head I've noticed some strange movement coming from it so keep it busy." They began attacking and Cloud turned his attention to the two arms. It was obvious they were it's shields which meant they would be tough. "Auron and Kimahri Your job is to take out the arms. We can't beat it if we can't get through it so make it fast!" Cloud turned to Tidus and Yuna. He had purposely kept them with him so that they would be safe. They were the ones with the least fighting experience so he wanted them to stay close. "You two are with me. Yuna you'll be the healer and Tidus you're gonna be attacking the body with me." They both nodded and when the three of them turned to the sinspawn the arms had gone.

Cloud slashed and hacked doing his best to attack the beast and make sure Tidus an Yuna were safe. If this was one on one Tidus would've just made a fatal error, however since Cloud was also there Tidus' mistake worked in their favour. When the sinspawn got ready to attack Tidus it gave Cloud the opening he needed to finish it off. He span around, slashing his sword at the same time, and the creature flew backwards onto it's back. A roar could be heard and Cloud turned to the ocean. Sin had arrived. The Al Behd opened fire while the Crusaders charged on their chocobos on the ground. The battle went on for about a minute and everything went dark. The air got ice cold and the evil voice of Sephiroth echoed through the entire land "Hahaha. People of Djose. Let me warn you now, this will be your final resting place.". Cloud shouted into the air "Shut up Sephiroth! Why don't you come here and fight!" he glanced up and saw the madman hovering above them. "Just face it Cloud, you're nothing but an empty puppet" Sephiroth taunted with an evil grin on his face. Cloud sprang into action and jumped straight for Sephiroth. When their blades collided Sephiroth laughed and a white flash was created which sent everyone flying to the ground.

Cloud was the first to stand and he noticed three things. Sin was gone, Jenova had appeared and the sinspawn was back on it's feet. He held them both off as best as he could until the other guardians came to help him. Once again Cloud took the lead. "Auron Kimahri and Wakka you focus on the sinspawn. Follow Auron's lead." They charged into battle which left Cloud with Tidus Yuna and Lulu. "Yuna take this materia," Cloud gave her his lightning and ice materia so she could fight. "Lulu and Yuna attack from distance. Tidus you're with me again in close quarters." They fought well. This time they were better prepared as Cloud knew Jenova would be coming as soon as Sephiroth appeared. Tidus kept his composure and didn't make any mistakes, Yuna and Lulu were doing well casting their elemental spells, however it wasn't enough. Cloud needed to use his limit however he needed to charge it which would leave Tidus on his own. "I need to charge my limit are you gonna be ok for a few minutes on your own?" Cloud asked. "Piece of cake!" Tidus replied with a smirk. Cloud raised his sword in the air then brought it down running his hand across the side of the blade and used Climhazzard. He ran up to Jenova and pierced straight through her body where he then jumped upwards slicing her in half.

The others had finished off the sinspawn and Cloud turned his attention to Jenova's remains. From the red ashes a glimmer of light bounce off of something. Cloud looked closer and saw another of his swords. Two swords rather. They were the back blades of his fusion sword. He picked them up and sheathed them along with the fused sword. Spirits were down and dead bodies were everywhere. This was the power of sin and Sephiroth combine. Cloud began to doubt whether it was even possible for him to defeat both of them. He began tending to the wounded while Yuna performed a sending and the rest of the group were still recovering. Cloud found that they were all waiting for him, Yuna had finished her sending an hour ago however Cloud hadn't noticed. He'd seen so much death back when he was with Shinra and now he always tried to help the wounded out of force of habit. Approaching the group he apologised for making them wait however no one was really asking for one.

They continued down the road towards the temple and Yuna pressed against Cloud. "Here." Yuna said as she held up Cloud's materia. "Keep it. You need something to protect yourself with and the materia fits in with your magic based combat." Cloud replied. Yuna smiled and re-equipped the materia. He could tell she was trying to stay positive, Yuna worked so hard and she deserved more respect. "Hey, how much longer 'till Zanarkand?" Tidus asked. He must've said that at least a hundred times on this trip and Cloud could see even Wakka was getting tired of it the way he replied. "Still a ways." "First down the Moonflow to the Guado city of Guadosalam. Then we cross the Thunder Plains to the temple of Macalania" Lulu continued. "Oh boy" Tidus groaned "And before that, we get to pray at the temple of Djose!" Yuna giggled. "Yuna needs to pray at all the temples to get the final aeon." Cloud explained to Tidus. Cloud still didn't have a lot of knowledge about Spira but he knew about the final aeon. "That's a summoner's training. She's gotta prepare mind and body, all just to get ready for the final summoning." Wakka chipped in. "Must be tough Yuna" Tidus said to her. "I'll be fine, especially with Cloud here." Yuna replied. Cloud couldn't help but smile as she said that.

The next road they continued down was more structured and developed. It was clearly man-made and it lead them to the Djose temple. Cloud had to admit the temple was impressive. Massive rocks floated around it and bolts of electricity connected them all together. "Awesome!" Tidus exclaimed in an awestruck manner. "The Lightning Mushroom Rock. It only opens when a summoner is addressing the fayth." Lulu explained. "That means another summoner's already in there." Wakka added and Tidus asked "What if it's Dona?" dragging on his words as he groaned. "We have to hurry." Yuna stated. Noticing the concern in her voice Cloud nodded and said "Lets go"

They entered the temple and saw a male summoner walking down the steps coming from the chamber. Yuna and the summoner 'Isaru' as he called himself spoke for a bit. Cloud looked at his two guardians one was muscular however he didn't have a massive build like Barret he had more of a lean body. The other was a child no more than ten years old. Cloud found this strange, however when they walked past with their summoner he nodded at them and they did the same. They entered the cloister of trials however Cloud found himself being held up by Isaru who called to him "Hey, you.". Cloud turned to face him "Hm?" "You're Yuna's guardian, no? Maroda's heard a curious rumour. I thought you should know." Isaru continued Maroda took over and said "I heard from those Crusaders. Seems that summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just..disappearing." "It could just be the fiends got them but not so many so quickly." Isaru added. "Sorry I don't know more but watch your back. Ain't much future for a guardian without a summoner, eh?" Maroda finished. "What? What? Whatcha all talkin' 'bout?" the kid asked buzzing around like an uncontrollable chiwawa. Cloud turned away and walked to the cloister of trials, he wasn't interested in their disputes.

Although all of them were here this time the process was still the same. Everyone took their own space as they waited for Yuna to exit the ante-chamber. Their silence was interupted by Dona and Barthello who closely followed her in. Cloud chuckled as she stared him down. "Still travelling with quite the crowd I see." she stated trying to get under their skin. Barthello walked straight towards Auron "What is it Barthello? You know this riff-raff?" she asked. Barthello ignored her and asked "You are...Auron, no?" "What of it?" was the response. "Can..I shake your hand?" Barthello asked. Cloud loved it Barthello was completely fanboying over Auron and he just made Dona look like an absolute fool. "Calling the personal guardian to Lord Braska riff-raff?" Wakka questioned "And you call yourself a summoner?" Lulu joined in. Everyone was chuckling. "Barthello, enough! Get back here!" Dona exclaimed. Cloud gave her a look which seemed to annoy her even more than the comments.

Yuna finally stumbled out of the ante-chamber however she didn't fall over and she didn't need a lot of help standing up. Dona spoke up "All these guardians and Sir Auron too? The world must look different when you're the daughter of Lord Bras-" she was interupted by Cloud who had drawn his sword and pointed it at her. "You don't want to finish that sentence." He said hoping to get the message across for her to shut up. "This has nothing to do with my father! I'm travelling on my own as a full-fledged summoner!" Yuna responded. Dona grunted and walked into the ante-chamber.

After leaving the temple Cloud immediately rented a room and threw his thing on the bed. He was about to head to the bar until he was something. Green streams of light were spiralling around his bag. When Cloud took out the projector the streams gravitated towards it. He had a message. Cloud smiled and took the projector with him to the bar. Only Wakka was there however he said "Hey I got a message off of my friends in Gaea. Would you mind getting the others?". "No problem Bubby. I can't wait to hear what they all have to say, ya." Wakka replied. He ran outside to get the others and soon enough they were all here.

They gathered round as Cloud turned the projector on and an image appeared on the wall. "Hi Bubby!" everyone greeted. "Oh man! That's never goin' away! Ya hear that Bubby?" Cid said as he laughed uncontrollably. After everyone introduced themselves Barret said "By the way Chocoboy. Why didn't ya tell 'em about Wall Market?" "Yeah. Are ya tryin' to hide something from them?" Cid chipped in. "Why don't you tell 'em Yuffie?" Barret said. After Yuffie explained how Cloud cross-dressed to get into Don Corneo's mansion to save Tifa everyone was laughing. Cloud would never live this down. He sighed and muttered under his breath "I hate you guys.". "Ok, ok. Calm down. Denzel, Marlene. Do you want to say anything to Cloud?" Tifa asked. They both came forward and whispered to each other. Denzel finally came forward and asked "Can you show us some Blitzball?" Cloud looked over at Tidus and Wakka whose faces lit up at the sound of hearing Blitzball. "Also can Yuna show us a summon? I want to see if it's like when we use materia!" Marlene asked. "Bye Chocoboy!" they all exclaimed and Cloud could hear Barret and Cid calling him Bubby in the background.

"Hahaha. Oh boy that was funny, ya!" Wakka exclaimed. "Yeah no kiddin'. You have some crazy stories Cloud!" Tidus added. "I like Denzel and Marlene. They're cute." Yuna told Cloud. "Hm. They are." Cloud replied. The guardians all stood and walked outside laughing and smiling while Cloud remained inside. Yuna stopped and noticed he wasn't coming. She walked to him and asked "Are you alright?". Cloud looked up at her. She was beautiful as always and her presence made him smile. "I'm fine. I just think that fight drained me more than I thought. I'm gonna go to sleep early I think." Cloud replied. Yuna nodded and Cloud stood. He kissed her on the forehead and said "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." while winking at her. Cloud lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. Cloud's thoughts dwelled on the rumour he was told by Maroda. Summoners going missing? Not his summoner. He wouldn't let anything happen to Yuna he would guard her with his life. He rolled over and fell asleep.


	6. Moonflow into Guadosalam

**Chapter 6 -** _ **Moonflow into Guadosalam**_

Cloud awoke. His sky blue mako eyes glowed in the dim light of his room. He gathered his things, making sure to get the projector, and walked outside where he saw everyone standing around waiting for Yuna. "Where's Yuna?" Cloud asked the group. Lulu was the one to reply "She's in the temple." "As soon as she's ready we leave, ya." Wakka added.

Cloud walked into the temple and went through to one of the side rooms. He saw Yuna resting and noticed a woman in the room. "She was up all last night tending to the wounded." the woman told him "Hm. She works too hard. I'll let her rest." Cloud replied and just as he was about to turn and exit Yuna groaned and sat up. "Morning" Cloud greeted "Morning?" Yuna replied puzzled. "I'm sorry! I'll get ready right away!" she continued. "Don't worry. You deserve the rest. Not every summoner would try to help out so much so don't beat yourself up about sleeping for a while." Cloud told her with a chuckle. Yuna didn't listen though she darted around the room trying to get ready as fast as possible. In the blink of an eye Yuna had all her things and the two of them walked outside.

"Yo sleepyhead!" Wakka shouted to Yuna. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Yuna said over and over. "There's no need to apologise." Cloud told her and Lulu added "Cloud's right, for once, and anyway here your hair." while handing her a brush. "A summoner with bed hair! What's the world comin' to?" Wakka teased. "You could've woken me up!" Yuna protested "We called." Cloud countered "But with all that snoring..." Lulu continued who was also teasing her. "Hey! Why's everyone picking on me!?" Yuna exclaimed. Everyone started laughing and when Cloud looked over even Auron was chuckling away. "You too Sir Auron?" Yuna confronted "Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair we leave!" Auron taunted which made everyone laugh louder. They all continued down the path still laughing.

Cloud saw Yuna speaking with Lucil. He stood by her side however didn't listen to a word they were saying. To his surprise Lucil began speaking to him "You know you're a very strong fighter. Perhaps one day you would consider joining the Chocobo knights." "Chocobos aren't meant to be used like this. I'm not interested.". Cloud's response was more harsh than he meant it however he got his point across. "Very well, I'm sad to hear that. Elma Clasko let's go!". The three knights took their leave with their single chocobo and once again left them in the dust. "It's about time we left as well." Cloud stated and to his word they all set off.

It's funny after the battle in Djose the others seemed to see Cloud as the leader of the group. Although it put extra pressure on him he didn't really mind, after all he was used to it. After taking out a fiend with his fusion sword the others seemed to notice the two extra blades he was carrying. "Yo Bubby, where did you get those two swords from?" Wakka questioned. Everyone looked at Cloud and they were all clearly thinking the same thing. "I've noticed every time we defeat Jenova my swords are left behind in the remains. Don't ask me why they appear because I don't know." was Cloud's reply. "Are they really necessary though? I mean I've only ever seen you use that big one." Tidus said and Cloud then went on to explain how his fusion sword worked. He told them that the more swords he added to the blade the stronger it would become and that he would only add the extra blades when they were needed. "I still don't get it!" Tidus complained and Auron could see that Cloud wasn't in the mood so he said "I'll explain it again". Cloud gave him a look of thanks and Auron nodded back at him.

Seeing all his friends like that had really gotten to Cloud. He missed them and it made him reflect on their journey together. Unfortunately for Cloud whenever he thought about the past it never ended well. They were all walking down the path and Cloud's mind had drifted to one of his worst memories. The death of Aerith. Even though Zack and Aerith were apart of his mind not even they could get anywhere close to memories like this. Cloud's eyes narrowed and he fell to the ground. He shook and thrashed as he held his head in pain. "Cloud!" He heard Yuna shout "Everyone, come quick!" was the last thing he heard before his eyes closed.

He found himself in his sub-conscience where he went over his memories. Cloud was cut off from everyone here. No Aerith, No Zack, no anyone. "What if I...fail again." Cloud muttered to himself. "What if I let Yuna die..." "You won't!" a voice shouted at him. Cloud looked up and found that he was looking at himself as a child. "How do you know?" Cloud spoke up. "I just do! Listen if we don't have any faith then we won't be able to save Yuna. But if we keep fighting and stay strong she will stay safe!" child Cloud boldly stated. "You don't get it. I said I wouldn't let anything happen to Aerith and I failed..." Cloud said while looking down at the floor "What if I'm not strong enough to save Yuna either?" "Don't you remember what Zack told us? We are his living legacy! Would Zack doubt himself? You know he wouldn't after all he took on the entire Shinra army for us so we could escape! Don't let him down." Child Cloud spoke with wisdom and reason and Cloud became hopeful, however he wasn't fully convinced. "You're right. But I just...don't know."

This was terrible! Cloud had suddenly passed out for no reason! Yuna shook his body frantically and shouted "Cloud wake up!". Her voice was full of fear and worry. Auron knelt down and examined Cloud. "He'll be fine." Auron said with a bruding tone "I suggest we carry on and rest when we get to the moonflow." he continued. "Kimahri will carry." Kimahri stated. It was strange when Kimahri said this as he and Cloud never really spoke but Yuna did always see them looking at each other, maybe there was some kind of silent understanding between them. As Kimahri picked him up everyone took out their weapons and remained on high alert. With Cloud out they had to be extra careful. Cloud was their leader, without him they were lost. He always knew when there was danger and he took care of it pretty easily as well.

Walking down the path Tidus felt vulnerable. Cloud was like his mentor and had taken Tidus under his wing so without him around made him very uneasy, more so when an over sized Ochu appeared before them. Everyone seemed to look to Auron for leadership due to his experience. Auron looked at them all and grunted. "Fire will be most useful in this fight. Anyone with a weapon specialised with fire will be on the front lines. Petrification may also be useful." Auron told them calmly. Tidus found himself on the front lines with Lulu and Wakka. He had a sword that radiated fire, Lulu had her fire spells and Wakka seemed to have some kind of petrification weapon. He called it the T.K.O and Tidus found it hilarious how Wakka named his weapons, it inspired him to come up with his own names. "Flametounge comin' at ya!" Tidus exclaimed as he slashed the Ochu. It screamed in pain from the fire and Wakka shouted to him "Ha! That was nothing! Get a load of this!" as he threw the T.K.O at the Ochu. It immediately turned to stone and smashed into thousands of little pieces. "Woah!" Tidus exclaimed in surprise. "Pretty cool, ya!" Wakka boasted "I'll say!" was the reply from Tidus.

 _ **7th Heaven, Gaea**_

Tifa picked up the projector again. Still nothing. "Barret, I'm worried." Tifa told him with a hint of anxiety in her voice. "He's fine! You know what Choco- sorry, what Bubby's like!" Barret joked with Tifa. She smiled and said "You're probably right, but what about Denzel?" Before Barret could even speak Denzel and Marlene burst through the door with Yuffie. "Hey Daddy! Wanna come play with us?" Marlene asked "Not right now. I just need to talk with Tifa then I'll be right there." "Ok!". They rushed off outside laughing and giggling. "He seems ok don't he?" Barret asked Tifa "I guess you're right." "Cloud'll be fine you know that right?" Barret reassured Tifa who nodded in agreement.

 _ **Moonflow, Spira**_

"We've reached the Moonflow," Auron stated "Everyone start setting up camp." Everyone nodded however Yuna went over to Cloud who had been placed on the floor and proped up against a tree. She stared at him for a while just admiring his facial features until she heard Lulu explaining to Tidus how at night all the pyre flies appear at the Moonflow at night. "That's awesome! I can't wait!" Tidus shouted "I just hope Bubby wakes up soon, ya. Seeing the Moonflow at night is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Wakka said. "Less talk more work!" said Lulu giving them a scold which was a warning that meant if you don't hurry up I will not hesitate to shoot fire at you. "Yes mam'!" They both exclaimed with a salute, Yuna couldn't help but laugh.

"What about everyone back home? They're depending on me as well. What if I fail them too?" Cloud said to his younger self. "You won't fail them. Not all of the pressure is on you! Don't forget you have a group of very talented fighters!" Child Cloud argued. "I just don't want to put them in danger..." Cloud admitted. He may seem like he doesn't care about things like that but he did. "They'll never learn if you don't let them get into danger a few times. What about this? If you don't think they can handle something jump in and help them out alright?" was the counter from Child Cloud. Cloud thought about this for a while before nodding and agreeing. "You ready to go back?" "Yeah send me back." Cloud said. Everything turned white as the scenery faded.

Flowers were all around Cloud. Cloud sighed and knew he was going to get a lecture. "Cloud Strife!" Aerith exclaimed with anger and a hint of relief in her voice "We were worried sick! Why couldn't we sense you!? Where did you go!? What were you doing!?" Cloud and Zack glanced at each other smirking. "Hey I need to get away from you guys sometimes." Cloud chuckled and Aerith couldn't help but smile. "So where did you go?" Zack asked "My sub-conscience. You guys can't access it." Cloud replied. Zack narrowed his eyes "What are you hiding in there? Damn this is gonna bug me!" Cloud smirked "I should get going. They might need me.". Aerith hugged him and said "If this ever happens again I will personally murder you!" with a smile on her face. She was clearly relieved to see him. Cloud smiled and the scenery faded once more.

As Cloud opened his eyes slowly. He noticed it was night and when he looked over he saw everyone looking at a lake. Millions of pyreflies could be seen. It was a sight of beauty, all the different colours everywhere and the water was influenced by the pyreflies so much it radiated a green aurora like the lifestream. Cloud stood and as he did the pyreflies came for him. With the essence of the lifestream around him they couldn't help but be attracted to him. They shot from across the water and turned the heads of the party. "Cloud!" they all shouted as they got up and ran over to him. "Uh hey guy-" Cloud tried to say to them however he was bombarded with hugs. Yuna had jumped on him and put him on the floor where everyone else piled on. "Guys...bones...crushing." were the only words Cloud could get out and everyone laughed. They all got up and Yuna realised how angry she was "Cloud Strife! We were worried sick!" she exclaimed. Cloud remained quiet for a second. He was stunned by what she had just said. Aerith had said the exact same thing. They were a lot alike. With a chuckle Cloud said "I'm sorry. It's not like I meant to pass out." and soon after he said it everyone laughed at his sarcastic comment even Auron.

The group sat around the camp where they laughed and joked around. It had been a long time since Cloud had heard them laughing for real. Cloud was standing at the edge of the lake where he stared at all the pyreflies. "I've never seen pyreflies react this way before." Auron's voice came from behind Cloud. "Hm. It's because in Gaea we have the lifestream. It sort of works the same as pyreflies but it's the blood of the planet, without the lifestream the world couldn't exist. Since mako runs through my blood I radiate the spiritual energy from the lifestream. It only makes sense that the pyreflies are attracted to me." Cloud replied and Auron chuckled. "What's so funny?" "I didn't expect to hear that from you. You're wise beyond your years." Auron complimented Cloud which was a shock. "You know, since I have a bond with the lifestream I can see things others can't if you know what I mean.." Cloud said to Auron who clearly understood what he meant. "I won't say anything don't worry." Cloud followed up and Auron was thankful for this.

With Cloud being passed out for so long he wasn't tired so while everyone else slept he was on guard duty. He took out the projector and began to film. "Sorry this took so long I couldn't find the time to film," Cloud didn't want to get them worried so he left out the part where he passed out. He turned the camera around and showed them the lake "Breathtaking right? The pyreflies make everything so peaceful." Cloud was quiet for a moment so they could take in the scenery. "By the way when I get back if you call me Bubby I will not hesitate to kill you." He threatened sarcastically. Cloud decided to tell them more about the people he had met. He focused on Seymour especially due to the anger he had for him. With them coming up to Guadosalam, the home of Seymour, Cloud wasn't feeling too great. After filming for sometime the sun finally came up. "Hey get up lazy asses!" Cloud shouted with a smirk on his face. Everyone groaned and the more moody people namely Lulu and Auron cursed under their breaths. Cloud shrugged "You had to get up eventually why not now?" "I wish you were still unconscious." Lulu groaned which made Cloud laugh.

When they got ready they continued down the path until they got to some sort of dock. "What the hell is that?" Cloud questioned in a surprised tone. Yuna laughed and replied "It's a Shoopuf! I haven't been on one in so long!" she seemed to be rather excited. She wasn't the only one as he saw Wakka and Tidus bouncing around "Hey Bubby how are you not excited about this!?" Wakka asked and Cloud shrugged "I guess it's because I've never done anything like this." "Really? With all of your crazy stories I would've thought there must be something like this." Yuna said in response. Cloud tapped his foot and looked up trying to recall a situation like this "Nope nothing. If I ever had to cross the ocean I would've just taken a boat or called Cid to fly me over. Although I guess a chocobo would kind of count right?" "A chocobo? How did you ride a chocobo across the ocean?" Yuna asked him curiously "Heh. Come with me, I'll explain on the way to the shop." Cloud said. After Cloud had told Yuna about his golden chocobo and how he had bred the perfect one the shop keeper noticed his swords "Those swords look like they've seen better days." he said to Cloud. Cloud hadn't noticed it but they were very rusty "You're right. How about you clean 'em up for me? 200 gil?" Cloud offered "You got yourself a deal!".

While Cloud's fusion sword wasn't the Buster Sword he still felt like it carried the pride and dreams of Zack which is why he wanted to have it cleaned and polished up. "How long until the Shoopuf gets here?" Cloud asked "About 10 minutes. I can't wait, ya!" Wakka answered with excitement in his voice. "Heh you guys are like kids" Cloud joked "Ey! Ridin' on Shoopuffs is something little boys never grow out of!" Wakka looked at Tidus and they both shouted "Right!" in agreement which made Cloud snicker. He walked over to Yuna and asked "You excited?" "Very! The last time I rode a Shoopuf was when Kimahri was taking me to Besaid, ten years ago! Remember?" Yuna asked Kimahri who spoke slowly to Cloud "Shoopuf shook. Yuna fall over side. Shoopuf catch Yuna with long nose. Yuna jump in three more times for fun. Kimahri worried." "Whoops" Yuna joked "Yuna happy so Kimahri is happy" Kimahri said. The guy may have been big and brooding but he was really a caring and loving Ronso.

"Swords for a Mr Strife!" the shopkeeper shouted. Cloud walked to the desk and took his swords "Here. Keep the change." "You know" the shopkeeper mused "Those swords seem very rare. I ain't never seen anything like 'em!" he continued. Cloud stayed quiet for a moment. He knew he couldn't just say they were from a different world so he replied "They're one of a kind. I had them specially made for me.". The shopkeeper continued to eye them up "Name your price". Cloud raised his eyebrow. Like he was gonna sell his weapons. "They're not for sale." He replied in a confident tone to make sure he let the keeper know who was in charge. "How about a trade? I'll give you this sword and make sure your others are kept safe." he said as he held up a familiar blade. It was the Buster Sword. Clouds eyes widened and his jaw dropped. The old wrinkly face of the old man flickered and Zack's face could be seen for a few moments. "What are you doing here?" Cloud said with a grin on his face. "Heh you took your time Strife. I just came to warn you that something's about to happen and you might not be able to help." Old man Zack said. Cloud shrugged "What are you talking about?" "I can't give you the details but you'll be needing this." Zack replied as he threw a pink glowing ball towards him. "Underwater materia. It should allow you to breath underwater as you might have guessed." Zack looked at the Buster Sword "I don't think you'll be needing this. Yet." Cloud seemed confused by this and he was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a voice "All aboards!". He looked behind him to see where the voice was coming from and when he turned back Zack had vanished. Gathering his thoughts Cloud looked at the underwater materia in his hand and fused it with his body. "Cloud!" Yuna called waving her arm for him to hurry up. He nodded and made his way to the Shoopuf.

The Shoopuf was smoother than Cloud expected. He thought the thing driving it was rather odd though. Cloud leaned in next to Yuna and whispered "What the hell is that blue thing?". She giggled and replied "It's a Hypello! They're actually quite funny.". Cloud sat back unable to rest due to the warning Zack had given him. The others were talking about some old city that had sank years ago. Wakka was trying to claim the people thought they could defy the laws of nature. Cloud knew that his opinion was important however Cloud himself didn't believe that's why they built a city on top of the river. Cloud heard a creaking noise. Something was about to happen. His senses kicked in and he stood taking out his sword at the same time. Suddenly a metal arm grabbed Yuna. Cloud swung his sword at it but it just bounced off of the arm and Yuna was pulled under. Tidus and Wakka stood and Cloud fused the back blades with the main blade so it could cut through the reinforced metal. They all dived in and swam rapidly for the machine holding Yuna captive. "Use lightning!" Cloud shouted. Thanks to the underwater materia he could communicate as normal. He swam in close and slashed and hacked. Cloud glanced behind him and saw Wakka and Tidus getting ready to perform a combo attack so he slashed one more time and kicked off of the machina which caught the controller by surprise as Tidus and Wakka came flying in. Their attack had caused a few malfunctions which enabled Cloud to get in and provide the finishing blow. He grabbed Yuna and they all swam back up as fast as possible. "It's about to blow hurry!" Cloud shouted as he threw Yuna up to Wakka who was already at the top with Tidus. The three of them jumped out and Cloud surfaced just before it exploded which caused him to fly uncontrollably into the middle of the group.

"God damnit. That hurt." Cloud groaned as he stood. "Damn the Al Behd!" Wakka exclaimed "Now we know their the reason why summoners kept disappearing. Do they ever take a break?" Cloud asked rhetorically. He didn't understand the Al Behd. Why would they just take summoners like that? There must be a reason behind it, some kind of motive for doing it. "From now on you're staying with me." Cloud told Yuna as he took a seat next to her putting his arm around her. Yuna seemed to like this as Cloud noticed her leaning into him rather than staying in her starting position. Cloud like this as well.

They jumped off the Shoopuf and headed for Guadosalam. "Hey Cloud! Aren't you excited to see your best friend Seymour?" Tidus taunted and Cloud grinned "You might have to hold me back if it gets too bad." he replied. The group didn't know whether to take this seriously or as a joke which made Cloud chuckle to himself. He carried on down the path with Yuna by his side, Tidus was ahead of them and the rest were behind them. "I feel like we have our own security team." Cloud said to Yuna sarcastically which made her laugh "I know. I wonder if this is how Maester Mika feels?" she said laughing away. "A summoner shouldn't be laughing at thing like this!" Cloud told her doing an impression of the grand maester "That's how Mika sounds right?" he continued "No!". They were both laughing away until they saw Tidus talking to a girl up ahead. She had blonde hair and she was wearing an orange top. Cloud's mind clicked. "Hey Tidus is this Rikku?" "Huh!?" Tidus replied barely able to speak as Cloud gave him a grin "Nice to finally meet you. Tidus hasn't stopped talking about you!" Rikku clearly understood Cloud and played along "Oh really? You'll have to tell me what he's been saying." she replied with a wink. "Shut up Cloud!" Tidus exclaimed and the four of them started laughing. "As you guessed I'm Cloud and this is-" "Yuna. We're cousins." Rikku interrupted. Cloud looked at Yuna for conformation and she said "It's true, we are.". Cloud and Tidus both looked at each other in confusion and the others approached them.

"Friend of yours?" Wakka asked Tidus who replied "Uh, you could say that." "Pleased to meet ya! I'm Rikku!". Tidus explained to Wakka that she helped him when he appeared in Spira before he washed up on Besaid. "So, uh... Rikku you look a little beat up. Everything ok?" Wakka asked her which was followed up silence. The silence was broken by Yuna who said "There's something we need to discuss." and Wakk replied "Oh, go ahead." however Rikku stepped in saying "Girls only! Boys please wait over there!". Cloud couldn't tell what they were talking about and it reminded him of when he was a kid. All the other kids would speak to each other secretly and Cloud never knew what they were saying. He was always left out, he used to think they were all so childish laughing at everything however he realised that he was the one being childish and stupid. Cloud and Auron were discussing how long they were going to stay in Guadosalam until they saw the three women approach them and Yuna said "I would like Rikku to be my guardian.". Auron spoke with Rikku and accepted her into the group then all eyes turned to Cloud who was deemed leader. He made a gesture indicating that he approved of Rikku. "Well, I'm for it! The more the merrier!" Wakka said to the group however it was aimed more at Rikku so she replied "Right-o! Then I'll just have to be the merriest!".

Before they set off Cloud pulled Rikku to one side. "I know you're Al Behd." Cloud told her and she dropped her head. "So, am I... no good?" "I didn't say that. I just wouldn't mention it around Wakka he's got a strong opinion if you know what I mean." He continued and Rikku replied with "Gotcha!". Cloud sensed fear in her voice and a slight hint of anxiety. "Relax. You're apart of the family now. I know they seem intimidating but they're all warm and fuzzy really." he said to her with a wink which made her smile and ease off a bit. "Hurry up you two!" Yuna shouted to them and Cloud grinned and said "Come on let's not keep them waiting."

Cloud decided to talk with Rikku for the rest of the journey to Guadosalam to try and make her feel more welcome, he knew what it was like to be excluded. They talked for a while and Rikku got happier. He noticed that she was eyeing up his sword and she finally asked "Can I look at your sword? I want to see how it works and maybe I could improve it!". Cloud was hesitant but he took out his sword and handed it to her. She instantly fell to the floor due to the weight of it. "How can you even lift this! You make it look so easy! This isn't fair!" She complained as Cloud chuckled to himself. "I'll explain it all later, but first we need to buy you some weights." Cloud teased and they both started laughing. Rikku examined the sword and started fiddling around with it. Cloud didn't really understand what she was doing but he didn't question it. "Done!" She shouted and Cloud picked it up. He didn't expect there to be much of a difference but when he lifted it he nearly threw it in the air it was so light. He couldn't believe it "How did you make it so light!?" he exclaimed and she replied "I just repositioned the force of balance and used a lunar curtain to tamper with the metal weight." as if this was normal talk for everyone. Cloud shrugged, he didn't really care how she did it he was just grateful. "I think you should go and talk with the others and sort out their equipment." Cloud told her and she nodded enthusiastically and ran ahead towards the group.

Cloud noticed Yuna wasn't very happy. Was she jealous? He couldn't help but smile. Rikku was a nice girl but Cloud thought of her more as a little sister rather than a lover, that would be too weird. Cloud shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He walked up to Yuna and said "Sorry I haven't been with you a lot for the rest of the journey. I just wanted Rikku to feel welcome." Yuna tried to keep her expression annoyed but she couldn't help but smile. Cloud was such a nice person. He looked like a tough scary and intimidating person but when you got to know him he was the complete opposite. "It's alright, I understand." she replied. Cloud was staring at the entrance to Guadosalam just ahead with concern in his eyes. He opened his mouth and said to her "I want you to stay with me in Guadosalam. I don't trust Seymour." "But he's a maester." "I know but there's just something about him. Maester or not I don't like him from the way he looks to the attitude he has towards the people of Yevon.". Yuna knew Cloud was an experienced soldier so she didn't question his instincts she just did as she was told and stayed close to him which she didn't mind at all.

They entered Guadosalam and Cloud saw some old guado heading straight for them. "Ah Lady Yuna. We have been expecting you. This way my Lady, this way." He said as he reached for Yuna's arm. Cloud stepped infront of Yuna and grabbed the guado by the collar picking him up. "Hands off creep." Cloud said to the old guado menacingly. "Oh, I beg your pardon. I am called Tromell Guado. I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Lady Yuna. Please come inside the manor. All will be explained." Tromell explained. Cloud wasn't interested in dealing with Seymour nor did he have any intention on seeing the blue haired freak, but it wasn't his decision it was Yuna's. Cloud let go of Tromell suddenly which made the guado fall to the floor "We'll go when we're ready."

Cloud looked around Guadosalam and took his time just to keep Seymour and Tromell waiting. "Cloud we need to go to the manor. It's not wise to keep a maester waiting." Lulu told him and he realised he had stalled for as long as he could. They entered the manor where they waited for Tromell. Cloud and Kimahri stood with Yuna. "Why does he want to see me?" she asked and Cloud was wondering the same thing. "Kimahri not like Maester Seymour." Kimahri stated and Cloud replied "You and me both. I don't trust the guy." which caused Yuna to frantically make noises to get them to be quiet. At last Tromell entered and said "This way please." "You took your time." Cloud replied as he barged past with Yuna close behind him. They entered a huge dining area with a buffet of food. Tidus and Rikku ran straight for the food and began scoffing it all down. Wakka took a seat anxious to see the Maester again and Lulu stood on her own admiring the architecture of the room. Auron was leaning against a wall which left Cloud and Kimahri stood by either side of Yuna. "What could it be?" Yuna questioned again "It will be fine. Me, Kimahri and the rest of the guardians are here with you there's no need to worry." Cloud told her and Kimahri added "Kimahri protect Yuna."

"Truly it is good to have guests again." Tromell said as he entered the room. Cloud didn't care about his stories so he didn't listen to him he just made sure he stayed close to Yuna. "That is enough Tromell" Seymour interuptted his story as he walked in. Cloud couldn't stand the arrogance of the man. "Welcome!" Seymour continued "You.. wanted to see me?" Yuna asked and Seymour clearly wanted to delay them as he said "Please, make yourselves at home. There's no rush." "Actually there is Seymour, so get to the point." Cloud snapped. Seymour smirked and said "Pardon me.". The way he said it was so infuriating like he was some how taunting Cloud. "Lady Yuna this way."

The room started to morph and they were all in outer space. Everyone was mesmerised and in awe except Cloud. He had seen this before and he wasn't about to be awe-struck by Seymour. "This sphere is a reconstruction created from the thoughts of the dead that wander the farplane." Seymour explained. The room changed again and they were in a city. It was full of life and there were lights everywhere. It was nothing like Midgar everyone was happy and excited unlike in Midgar where everyone was sad and depressed. "Zanarkand!" Tidus exclaimed with surprise "Correct. Zanarkand... as it looked one thousand years ago.". So this was Tidus' Zanarkand. His description fit the bill. Cloud had believed Tidus from the start about Zanarkand and his belief of that grew more and more as they saw more of the city. "She once lived in this metropolis." Seymour stated and Yuna questioned "She, who?"

Once again the room changed and they were in some kind of bedroom where a woman was sitting and her bed. She barely covered herself up and she reminded Cloud of one of the girls from the Honeybee Inn. "Lady Yunalesca!" Yuna realised. Seymour explained how she was the first to defeat Sin and that Yuna inherited her name. "To defeat the undefeatable Sin... it took and unbreakable bond of love - of the kind that binds two hearts for eternity." Seymour told Yuna. A scene played out and a man in armour walked into the room. He and Yunalesca spoke and held each other in their arms for a while. Cloud was still stood next to Yuna and he saw Seymour make eye contact with his guado servants. Three of them walked in and came straight for Cloud. "Sir you need to come with us." The three of them grabbed Cloud and started pulling him away which left Yuna alone with Seymour. "Hey! Let go of me!" Cloud protested. He got out of their grip and knocked them all down to the floor. Cloud noticed that Seymour had whispered something to Yuna and she went bright red.

Yuna approached the group and Rikku said "Wow! Your face is beet red!" "You alright?" Cloud asked her. "He.. he asked me to marry him!" Yuna blurted out with surprise in her voice. "What?" Cloud immediately said. "You know what Yuna must do." Auron told Seymour who started saying a big speech. "She must ease the suffering of all of Spira. She must be a leader for the people. I proposed to Lady Yuna as a maester of Yevon.". Auron continued to argue saying "Spira is no playhouse. Amoments diversion may amuse an audience, but it changes nothing." "Even so the actors must play their parts." Seymour countered. Cloud couldn't stand it any longer. He drew his sword and said "Shut your mouth Seymour! You're just trying to use Yuna to strengthen your position as a maester!" Seymour just chuckled and ignored him and said to Yuna "There's no need to answer right away. Please, think it over." "Whatever. Let's go" Cloud said sick of hearing the maesters voice.

They walked out of the manor and Yuna sat down. "This would give Spira something cheery to talk about for a change.." Lulu said in a persuasive manner. Did Lulu want her to quit? Did she not think Cloud could stop her from dying? "Seymour's a naive fool. He only thinks about the short term and never looks at the long run." Cloud stated and rikku elbowed him playfully "Jealous?" "Of a blue haired freak? Not a chance.". There was a moments silence and then Wakka said "He sure picked a fine time to lay this one on us." Yuna replied almost instantly "Maybe it is a fine time.". Cloud was in shock. Could Yuna actually like this creep? "What?" Cloud asked "If my getting married would help Spira... if it would make people happy..." Yuna replied and Cloud countered with "But if you defeated Sin for good think about how much more happy the people would be. Think about the long term.". Yuna was silent for a few moments then she stated "I'm going to the Farplane. I want to see my father and think about this.

As far as Cloud knew the Farplane was a place where people could see people who had died. Pyreflies would create the people from your memories. Cloud was questioning whether he wanted to enter or not. The answer was not. "Are you sure you don't want to come in Bubby?" Wakka asked him and he replied "I'm sure. If I did go in I'd probably pass out again. I have a lot of horrible memories."

Cloud waited outside with Rikku and Auron. Auron remained quiet however Rikku was very interested in Cloud's relationship with Yuna. "So what's the deal with you and Yuna?" "We-" "Do you love her?" "I-" "Do you want to marry her?" "Let me-" "Is that why you got so jealous when Seymour proposed?". Cloud sighed. He couldn't escape. "Alright let me speak and I'll answer you. I do have feelings for her, yes but she can marry whoever she wants. And if that's Seymour then that's her choice and I respect it." She didn't seemed satisfied with the answer and she looked like she was about to ask a lot more questions so Cloud quickly changed the subject. "So Rikku. I haven't told you where I'm from have I?" he said to her and she shook her head like a kid. She was so much like Yuffie it was unreal. He explained that he was from another planet and told her about all the adventures he had been on. "By the way if you're into machina you'll love my motorbike." Cloud said to her, however she had a puzzled look on her face. "A what?" she asked and Cloud was gobsmacked "You seriously haven't heard of motorbikes? Well you're in for a treat. I'll contact my friends and tell them to show you." "Looking forward to it Spiky!" She replied enthusiastically.

"Thanks for waiting. I'll go and give Maester Seymour my answer now." Yuna said as they all exited the Farplane. Cloud saw something behind them and ran to Yuna's side taking out his sword at the same time. A few of the guado were in shock and Cloud heard whispers saying "Lord Jyscal?" "He does not belong here! Yuna, send him." Auron commanded and Yuna obeyed. After she performed the sending Cloud saw her pick something up, but he couldn't see what it was. They all walked to the manor and discussed the situation. "So this Lord Jyscal was Seymour's father?" Cloud asked and Yuna replied "Yes. When he died Maester Seymour became a maester of Yevon and the leader of the guado." "One final question. Was he sent when he died?" "Yes.". Cloud was a smart man and it didn't take him long to realise that Jyscal had been murdered. The evidence was all there. He had already been sent and yet he appeared from the Farplane which means he couldn't find piece indicating an unclean death. And who rose to power when he died? Seymour. Seymour was the murderer and Cloud was sure of it, however he kept this to himself he didn't want to make a wrong accusation or offend anyone who followed Yevon. Cloud would keep this to himself until he was certain.

Yuna entered the manor and Cloud tried to go in with her, however he was stopped. He stood outside of the manor and leaned against a wall with crossed arms. Something wasn't right. Cloud hadn't seen Sephiroth since Djose. Either Sephiroth was hurt after their blades collided, which wasn't likely, or he was planning something big. Cloud shook his head. He needed to focus on Seymour for the time being, if Cloud's suspicions were correct and Seymour had killed his own father then Cloud needed to deal with him first. Cloud saw Tidus running up to the group. "Hey guys! Apparently Seymour left Guadosalam." he told them "Alright. I'll get Yuna." Cloud stated. He entered the manor and saw Yuna staring at a picture of Lord Jyscal. "Yuna." Cloud called to her and when she looked he motioned with his head for her to come. Upon exiting they heard Tidus saying Seymour had gone to the Macalania Temple. "Fine, then let's hurry up and go." Cloud said and being the leader of the group no one questioned him. Once everyone had gathered their things they left for the Thunder Plains. Cloud noticed Rikku was shaking so he asked "You ok?" and she replied "I can't stand thunder! Do we have to go?". Her voice was so shaky and full of fear. "Look, I know everyone has a fear but any fear can be overcome trust me, I know." "You had fears?" Rikku questioned. Cloud stopped walking and thought back. In response all he did was nod. "Are you all right?" Rikku asked him and and he snapped out of his day dream "I'm fine. I'll teach you a few tricks on how to overcome your fear of thunder once we are there ok?" he said with a smile which seemed to make Rikku feel a little bit better.

 **Gaea, Sector 7 Slums**

Denzel jumped down the stairs and landed on both feet. He ran as fast as he could to the hideout that he, Marlene, Yuffie and the other kids had made. No one was there yet which meant Denzel had some time to practice fighting like Cloud did. Cloud was so good at fighting! He'll never lose a fight to anyone! Denzel picked up a long stick from the ground and began swinging at around trying to mimic some of the moves he saw Cloud do. He tried to perform Braver, however he wasn't strong enough to do it. Denzel sighed and spoke to himself like Cloud did "I need to get stronger. I need someone to teach me, but Cloud isn't here and no one else in AVALANCHE uses a sword.". Denzel heard a noise and he saw Marlene enter "Hi Denzel!" she said and Denzel did his best SOLDIER pose just like Cloud did and nodded his head to her. Trying to keep his cool he said "Has there been a message from Cloud yet?" and Marlene replied "I don't know. Let's go and check!" Denzel nodded and they both ran to Tifa's bar.

Tifa was washing mugs when they entered, she looked really busy. "Um, Tifa? Has there been a message from Cloud?" Denzel asked. Tifa turned to them and looked at them with her deep brown eyes. Her smile could brighten anyone's day up. "I'm not sure. Why don't you check?" she replied so they both went to the projector. Denzels face lit up when he saw the flashing light indicating that there was an unseen message. The two of them watched it and as soon as it finished another message came through so they played that one as well.

Cloud's face appeared on the screen. "Just a quick message but in the next video you send I want you to show them Fenrir and before you say anything Denzel, no you cannot drive it." He said with a smile on his face. Denzel laughed at that comment. "Anyway, there's a new member of the group now. Say hi Rikku." he continued and he pointed the camera to a young girl with blonde hair and who was wearing some kind of orange and green clothing. Her eyes were green and they had spirals in them. Denzel stared at her in awe. "Hi everyone!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. A voice could be heard in the back ground, Denzel thought it was probably Tidus and he was shouting to them "Hey! I could use a bit of help!". Cloud and Rikku both started to laugh and Cloud said "Alright I need to help Tidus with this fiend so I'll cya later!" then the screen cut to black. Denzel was motivated. Whenever he saw one of Cloud's messages he felt like he could do anything! He ran outside picked up his long stick and began practising his sword fighting, jumping and leaping all over the place. No matter what Denzel would become an expert swordsman, just like Cloud.

 _ **Sorry this took so long! I've had a lot of work to do with my exams coming up and everything! Please know that I will still be writing chapters they will just take a while to come out at this moment in time!**_


	7. Thunder Plains into Macalania

_**Chapter 7 - Thunder Plains into Macalania**_

Lightning struck somewhere on Cloud's left although it was hard to tell with all the other bolts striking. Rikku screamed and everyone turned to look at her. She had told Cloud about her fear of lightning and thunder and Cloud said he would help her overcome that fear. This promise would have to wait. Cloud didn't realise how complex the Thunder Plains were going to be so all of his attention was required. "We need to avoid open areas." He stated and with a further inspection he added "It would also be a good idea to stay close to those towers. They're made from a conductive material so it should draw the lightning in.". Cloud only just realised it but he's come a long way. Back when he was leading AVALANCHE he would've just recklessly ran straight through this lightning filled landscape without a second thought.

Fiends as far as the eye could see. Cloud hacked them down easily. Rikku wondered how someone could be so strong. She wondered if she would ever be that strong. Maybe getting lessons from Cloud would be a good idea she remembered how clumsy Tidus was when fighting when they first met and after Cloud's training he looked like he'd been fighting for years. Rikku didn't want to stop there though. She had seen how powerful Lulu's spells were and it got her thinking that maybe with Lulu's spells and Cloud's strength she could become an amazing fighter.

Lulu shot a spell at the iron giant which stunned it then Cloud came in with the killing blow. Tidus had noticed a partnership growing between the two of them. Every battle it seemed like they were on the same wave length always creating combos and covering up each others weaknesses. They had a clear path for now so they continued walking. Something seemed different about Cloud though Tidus thought. At the start of their journey he was happier he has more fun, now he was all serious for some reason. What could've changed? "Have you noticed how serious Cloud has been recently?" Tidus asked Lulu who was to his left "I have." "Why do you think he's being like this?". They both stopped and Lulu looked at him puzzled. "Why do you think I would know?" she asked him and Tidus shrugged "You two always seem like you're thinking the same way in a battle or when we're planning something so I just figured you might know." "Hm. Well I guess maybe it could be the stress of being the leader of the group or maybe it could be trying to keep us all safe. Cloud's a very complex person and as you know he doesn't share his thoughts with us very often." Lulu replied. Tidus hadn't considered that Cloud was worried about them. It made sense but as Lulu stated it could be anything with Cloud.

"Are you alright?" Yuna asked Cloud who was walking next to her. He looked down at her and replied "I'm fine." Yuna knew he wasn't. Cloud had been acting differently for a while now and she was determined to find out why "No you're not." Cloud looked away from her and into the distance "Tell me!" Yuna demanded and Cloud chuckled. It had been a while since she saw that grin of his "I forgot how funny you were when you tried to seem angry." he taunted. "Shut up!" Yuna giggled then Cloud proceeded with his answer "I'm just concerned. Sephiroth hasn't shown himself for sometime now. I think he's planning something." "He's probably still recovering from that clash between the two of you." Yuna offered. Some say that Yuna would overestimate Cloud's abilities but she truely believed that was the reason Sephiroth hadn't shown up. "I doubt it..."

Cloud knew Sephiroth wasn't injured by their clash he just wasn't strong enough. They continued walking in silence. Cloud stared at Yuna, he needed to tell her how he felt about her. "Yuna..." "Mmm?" "I..." He couldn't do it "I was wondering whether you wanted any training. I won't always be there to protect you and your summons can only do so much so I think it would be a good idea.". Cloud had always found it hard to express his emotions and that wasn't any different now. "Sure. Would you mind teaching Rikku as well? She told me she wanted to get better at melee combat and since you're the best at that you could teach us both!" Cloud nodded in agreement.

"Hehehehehe". Cloud turned around. Rikku was frozen in place, she was petrified. Thunder struck and she yelped. She crawled towards Cloud and grabbed his leg. "Huh?" "I wanna go home!" Rikku shouted in pure fear. Everyone else seemed like they wanted to carry on, but Cloud knew that wouldn't be right. She was just a kid they needed to stop. "You wanna stay at that inn for a while?" Cloud asked her and she nodded frantically. Cloud turned back to the group "We should rest here.". His decision to stay caused a lot of moaning from Tidus and Wakka who were ready to carry on but Cloud's decision was final.

They entered the inn and Yuna immediately rented a room and went straight to it. Cloud knew she was hiding something but he wasn't going to press for an answer just yet. Lightning struck again and Rikku yelped yet again. Cloud felt sorry for her so he walked over to her and began speaking to her to try and take her mind off of it. "How you holding up?" he asked her putting his hand on her shoulder. She was shaking and barely able to speak. "Listen, the trick is to embrace your fear." Cloud explained. Rikku looked up at him confused "What do you mean?" "I'm saying let the lightning and thunder in. You only get scared of it because you're resisting it. If you embrace it then it won't be working against you, but with you instead.". Lightning struck again and Rikku looked down and closed her eyes tight "Look I know it's hard but just keep working on it you'll learn to embrace it sooner or later. If you need anything just ask." Cloud said with a smile as he walked outside.

Cloud could feel the static energy in the air. He had to remove his leather gloves as he kept getting an electric shock whenever he touched anything. Lightning bolts had always fascinated Cloud as a kid and even now at 23 he was still mesmerised by the complex patterns the bolts made as they split across the sky. He couldn't take it all in properly though. Sephiroth was still on his mind. 'An empty puppet'. Those words echoed through Cloud's mind, piercing his brain with memories of instability. Back then he couldn't stop Sephiroth from controlling him. After he regained his memory he was able to block Sephiroth out for a while but when he and AVALANCHE were about to leave it happened again. Sephiroth tried to control Cloud but he fought back and overcame that part of Sephiroth that remained inside of him. Cloud thought he was no longer in Sephiroth's shadow, he thought he was free. He didn't tell anyone but sometimes he could hear Sephiroth's voice in his head, calling to Cloud trying to take control. He had nearly succeeded many times but Cloud managed to stay in control.

"Yo Bubby!" Cloud was pulled out of his inner thoughts and back into reality. Wakka and Tidus came outside both full of energy. "Did we interrupt something?" Tidus questioned. Cloud's face must have said it all as they both apologised "It's fine. What do you need?" he asked and Wakka replied "We were wondering if you would do a little training session with us. We're too full of energy to rest so we need to do something to get us settled down.". Cloud sighed. He knew where this was going. "What kind of training session?" they both exchanged looks and Tidus said "We've come a long way since the Mi'ihen Highroad and we think we can take you on!". Just as Cloud thought. He admired how they were both headstrong, but if they were like this against Sin or Sephiroth they wouldn't last two seconds. Cloud was going to put them in their place to show them how strong they need to be in order to defeat them. "Alright fine. Just so you know I won't be holding back." "Ha! Just what we wanted!" Wakka exclaimed.

THUMP! They were both in the floor after 30 seconds. "You were both overconfident. This over confidence led to you making foolish mistakes. Sin and Sephiroth will see those mistakes and take more of an advantage of them than I did. All you need is a little more discipline that's all." Cloud informed them. Wakka was rubbing his head while Tidus rustled his way up to his feet. "You're right. We over-estimated our chances of victory. It's kind of like Blitz, ya. If you don't put in 100% every time You'll lose." Wakka realised and Cloud nodded in agreement.

Cloud headed back inside where he started planning out their next move. He saw Tidus heading for Yuna's room. He wanted to go and stop Tidus but he was too busy. Wakka locked eyes with Cloud and he understood so Wakka followed Tidus. A few minutes passed and all three of them came out. Auron had decided it was time to leave and he walked outside. "Please just-" Rikku didn't finish her sentence. She glanced at Cloud and lightning struck "Urgh. I'm not scared! I'm not scared, you hear!" she screamed as she walked outside. Cloud smiled and then stood "Let's go"

Theses fiends didn't know when to quit. Cloud would cut down a whole group and then a few minutes later even more would take their place. He slashed one across the chest making it dissolve into pyreflies "I'm getting sick of this" Cloud stated as they continued to walk. "We're almost there so they should start to thin out soon" Auron told Cloud who replied with "Soon isn't fast enough" as he sliced one in half. Cloud noticed that Yuna had been silent for a while now which was strange. Normally they would speak on these long walks but she hadn't said a word to Cloud. Yuna stop in her tracks. Cloud turned as she said "Everyone...wait." "Is everything all right?" Cloud asked her with concern in his voice. "I have something to tell you" "We're almost out of here let's go!" Rikku urged. "I have to say it now!" Yuna countered and Auron suggested they talk in the small shelter. Cloud leaned against the wall and the other guardians stood in a line waiting for Yuna to tell them her news. "I've decided to marry"

'I've decided to marry' those words echoed in Cloud's mind. He was frozen in place and his eyes were widen open staring down at the floor. The others were speaking to Yuna they could've been rejoicing with her, they could've been trying to stop her Cloud didn't know and he didn't want to know. He was in another world. His fingers were tingling his mouth was dry and his eyes were burning. "Is it because of Lord Jyscal?" he heard Lulu ask then Tidus blurted out "Hey! That sphere!" Cloud glanced up and asked "What sphere?" in a brooding and cold voice which seemed to pierce through everyone as they all shivered. Yuna remained silent and Cloud looked away. His fists were getting tighter and tighter until his knuckles had turned white. There was more talking and yet again Cloud was pulled away from it, lost in his thoughts. "Cloud?" he wasn't quite sure which one of them said his name but all he said was "Let's just go" and he began walking. He didn't wait for any of them and walked on his own.

Every fiend that came his way were obliterated not just by Cloud's sword but by the aura of pure anger that was being radiated from Cloud. Glancing over his shoulder the others had started walking, but Cloud had no intention to wait for them he needed to be alone. Zack's voice came from inside his head asking "You ok bud?" "Leave me alone." Cloud's anger and rage was so powerful that it was able to shut Zack and Aerith out. He was well and truly alone. Another glance over his shoulder and the others couldn't be seen. He turned back and saw the last thing he wanted to see.

"Stop acting as if you're sad Cloud. And there's no need to act angry either. You're just a puppet." Sephiroth taunted. Cloud's pupils narrowed into slits "Ugh! Just shut up!". Cloud ran at Sephiroth and took out his sword. He hacked and slashed uncontrollably without any technique just with anger. Sephiroth just took a defensive approach and eventually Cloud's anger cost him. Masamune sliced Cloud right across his chest. "Argh!" Cloud was launched backwards and landed on his back. He grunted and got back up. Blood was dripping from his chest quickly, he was running on adrenaline at this point. Wave after wave of attacks came in from Cloud but without and technique or accuracy he didn't stand a chance. Once again Masamune made impact this time across Clouds bicep. The pain was too much and he dropped his sword. Sephiroth swung for Cloud's neck but Cloud ducked just in time and picked his sword up in his left hand. "Hahaha. You can't win Cloud" Sephiroth's voice echoed. Cloud knew he was beaten. He knew better than to let his anger take over and yet he still let it. "Shut up" This seemed to be the only thing Cloud could say at the moment. Sephiroth chuckled and swung at Cloud hard. With his sword in his weak hand there wasn't much he could do. He met Masamune however his grip wasn't strong enough and his sword skittered across the floor. Cloud fell to his knees and held his arm where the cut was. Was this the end? Was Cloud destine to die here? No! Cloud dodged Sephiroth's swing and rolled to his sword and in the blink of an eye one of the back blades was flying through the air and pierced Sephiroth in his shoulder. He grunted and pulled the blade out throwing it on to the floor. "I'll let you live..for now" black feathers surrounded him and then he was gone. "Cloud? Cloud!" He could hear voices but he didn't know whose they were. His vision went blurry and he fell to the floor then his eyes closed.

Yuna had diverted away from the group to try and catch up to Cloud. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to tell him her plan. What she saw was heart breaking. She saw him fighting Sephiroth. Sephiroth was tearing him to pieces. Yuna tried shouting but her voice wouldn't work. She prayed and prayed and prayed that he would be ok. Cloud had managed to throw one of his swords into Sephiroths shoulder which made him retreat, however just as Yuna got there Cloud had collapsed. Blood was pouring out from his body rapidly. "Help! Help me!" she shouted to her guardians who were too far away to hear her. Yuna tried her best to heal the wounds with her magic but it wasn't strong enough. "Please Cloud! Wake up!" tears ran down her faced and onto Clouds face. Her head fell down onto his chest and she just cried. "Please" she whispered. She moved her head up towards his. Her lips ran across Cloud's and she kissed him. It was full of passion and meaning. Cloud's eyes opened but not for long. They closed again after a few seconds.

The rest of the group had finally caught up and their faces all dropped. They ran over and tried to help thier wounded comrade. Auron checked Cloud's pulse and glanced at his sealed jug. He took the cap off and poured the water down Cloud's throat. "He'll be fine." Auron reassured everyone then he asked what happened. Yuna tried to answer but she could barely speak. Tears continued to run down her face, she was devastated. Tidus, Wakka and Rikku had shed a few tears as well but not as much as Yuna. Even Lulu had a few drops run down her cheek. Auron and Kimahri were just silent. They all just sat there for a moment until Auron stood and said "We can't rest here. Lake Macalania is home to no fiends so we will set up camp there.". No one wanted to move but they had no choice. Kimahri picked up Cloud and they began walking in silence. Yuna walked next to Kimahri and saw Cloud's hand hanging down. She didn't know why but she placed her hand in his and continued to walk.

Yuna took Cloud's projector and started to record. "I'm so sorry." She said before bursting into tears again. Lulu took the projector and spoke instead of Yuna. "Cloud won't be able to send you any messages for a while..." She said in a shaky voice. A tear ran down her cheek. Yuna knew Lulu couldn't continue so she took the projector back. She used all her will power not to burst into tears again said what had happened. "I, I'm-" Her emotions got the better of her and tears came running out again. Lulu turned the projector off and sent the message. Wakka and Lulu were comforting each other. Rikku was in Tidus' arms crying uncontrollably and Tidus wasn't doing any better. Auron was leading the group through the Macalania Woods silently. Kimahri carried Cloud and kept looking straight ahead. Yuna could tell he was trying to hold back tears. As for her she kept her hand in Cloud's. Her grip was tight and she didn't want to let him go.

 _ **Geae, 7th Heaven**_

Tifa was in tears. "It's ok" Barret said who wasn't doing any better than she was "Cloud will be fine" "What if he isn't!? What if he dies!?" Tifa screamed. Barret remained silent. He couldn't answer her. Yuffie walked in and ran over to them. "What's wrong!?" she asked and Tifa just told her to make sure Denzel and Marlene don't come in. They were both just sat there in each others arms. They didn't care if it was awkward they were just comforting each other. "What are we gonna tell the others?" Barret asked. Tifa just kept sobbing so Barret made a call to all the AVALANCHE members. The message was the same every time "Get over here now. I don't care what you're doing just get over here. Cloud is in trouble."

 _ **Spira, Lake Macalania**_

Yuna hadn't left Cloud's side. They had been inside the inn for a while now, but Yuna wanted to treat Cloud's wounds. She wanted it to be like the first time they met, her tending to his wounds then Cloud waking up and making a sarcastic comment. Wakka slowly walked in and said "Yuna. Tromell is here for you.". Yuna wanted to protest put Wakka gave her that look and she walked outside where the other guardians were waiting. "Yes?" she said in a shaky voice. "Lady Yuna, we've been expecting you. We were surprised you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised, of course. Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice." Cloud had rubbed off on her too much as she found herself getting annoyed at the Guado but she kept her composure and said "That's quite all right." "We have to follow Guado tradition so unfortunately your guardians must wait here a little while longer Lady Yuna." Yuna looked down. She didn't want to leave Cloud. "Go." Wakka said "We can take care of Cloud until you get back." "Thank you"

As they went down the path Tidus noticed some movement. If it wasn't for Cloud's training he wouldn't have seen some Al Behd coming straight for Yuna. "Yuna! Look out!" They all ran to her side and took an offensive formation. A huge piece of machina rolled out and shot some weird machina that floated around in the air. "That machina is putting an anti-magic field arround us!" Rikku shouted. If only Cloud was here. He would've dealt with it straight away. Wakka kept trying to hit it but it was too fast. Without Cloud's leadership they were all over the place. Tidus Auron and Kimahri were focusing on the main machina while the others were trying to get the anti-magic field down. Tidus ran back and tried to analyse the battle like Cloud did. "Ok. I think I have a plan!" Tidus shouted to everyone. He ran towards the big machina, he called it the Crawler, and jumped on top of it. He then jumped towards the anti- magic device and tried to pull it down. "Wakka hit it now!" and just like that the ball hit the machina and it was destroyed. Lulu used her thunder spells and it didn't take long for the Crawler to be defeated.

 _ **?**_

"Hm?" Cloud opened his eyes and found himself standing in a white scenery. "Are you all right?" Cloud turned and saw Aerith. "Aerith? Where's Zack?" Cloud asked her. "Don't worry he's with AVALANCHE. He's telling them you're ok." "Why didn't you go with him?". Aerith skipped over to him and pushed push gently "I wanted to see you obviously!" Cloud smirked and Aerith gasped "Is that Cloud Strife smiling!?" "Everybody gets to see it once" Cloud chuckled. Aerith smiled to herself "There's the old Cloud.". Cloud was confused by this and said "The old Cloud?" "Yeah! You know when we went to the Gold saucer and stuff. The fun Cloud! I remember the old old Cloud as well though. What was it you always used to say 'No it's too dangerous!'" Aerith teased. Cloud smiled. "How long have I been out?" he asked "Well the others have gotten to an inn just passed Macalania. Tromell took Yuna to see Seymour and she's been gone for a day so I'd say about 2 days." Cloud looked down.

"So she's going through with it then?" Aerith shook her head and said "Take it from a girl, she wants you. She didn't want to leave you, that means it's you she wants not Seymour. There must be something she's not telling you.". Suddenly it clicked in Cloud's mind. The sphere! Lord Jyscal! Cloud's prediction must have been right. Seymour must have killed his own father. "I need to get up" Cloud stated "No Cloud you're too weak!" Aerith protested then Cloud gave her the look. She sighed and said "Fine. Go get 'em hero" Cloud smiled and he was pulled back into the real world.

 _ **Spira, Macalania Inn**_

Cloud opened his eyes slowly. Everyone was asleep. Cloud used all of his strength to stand up and then he shouted "Get up!". Everyone's eyes shot open and they scrambled to there feet. "Cloud!" they all shouted, but Cloud's mind was on more important things. "Save the reunion for later Yuna is in danger. Seymour isn't to be trusted!" "But it's guado tradition we can't interfere" Wakka said "I don't give a shit! Where did Tromell take her?" Cloud said. "They went to Macalania temple and how did you know that Tromell came for her?" Lulu answered and asked "I just did. I'm going. You're welcome to come and help me but you don't have to." Cloud replied. Cloud walked outside trying to cover up his pain as he did and the others soon followed.

Getting to Macalania temple was easy enough thanks to the snow skis left behind by the Al Behd. They got there in no time at all. Cloud lead the group down the long path to the temple. There was a bit of trouble getting in as Rikku had been stopped for being an Al Behd. "She's a guardian of Yuna. You can't stop her from entering." Cloud stated as he moved the priest aside allowing his fellow guardians to enter. "I'm assuming Wakka knows about you being an Al Behd now." Cloud said to Rikku who nodded and replied "He found out just after we beat my brother's latest machina.". Cloud chuckled at the image painted in his head of Wakka freaking out.

The others had entered the cloister of trials, but Cloud was delayed by the voice of a woman. "Lord Jyscal! A sphere in Lady Yuna's belongings!" It sounded bad so Cloud went to investigate. "Show me this sphere." Cloud said and the priestess nodded and gave the sphere to Cloud. The sphere contained a message from Jyscal and it confirmed Cloud's suspicions. Seymour had killed his own father. Cloud ran to the cloister of trials and finished it as fast as he could. When he made it to the entrance he saw Yuna exit the ante chamber and Seymour was facing his comrades saying something to them. No one had seen Cloud yet so he waited for the right moment.

The room was silent and then all that could be heard was Cloud's footsteps. "Cloud!" Yuna cried out. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his wasted so tightly he couldn't breathe. Despite this greeting his eyes remained fixed on Seymour. Everyone looked at Cloud puzzled until he spoke. "Why don't you tell us the truth Seymour." "Whatever do you mean?" "You know exactly what I mean!" Cloud shouted as he threw the sphere on the floor making it play at the same time. Once the message had been complete Seymour just smirked. "Come Lady Yuna we must head off to the next temple." He said reaching out for Yuna's arm as if nothing had happened. Cloud stepped infront of Yuna and the others made a circle around her. "Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life. The code of the guardian. How admirable. Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them." "Heh. Is that a joke?" Cloud taunted "So be it!" Seymour bellowed.

"Everyone focus on the guards Seymour is mine!" Cloud shouted as he blocked two attacks from the guado guards and flipped over them. Cloud grunted and swung at Seymour who blocked his strike. Afew quick attacks from Cloud were blocked and it appeared Seymour was more agile than he thought. Cloud took a new approach and went defensive. Seymour used his magic to attack Cloud. He deflected the ice spells and countered the other spells with his materia. Seymours tactics were obvious he used spells to attack and his rod was for defense. Cloud shifted to offense again and instead of using his sword he used an ice spell to catch Seymour off guard. The spell landed and Cloud lunged. Seymour fell to the floor and began to chuckle. "What's so funny you snake!?" "Come Anima!" he shouted and his aeon was let loose.

Cloud sighed. "It's never so simple is it." Cloud rolled to the side to dodge one of Anima's eye blasts. The others had just finished off the guards and came to Cloud's side. "Got any ideas?" Tidus asked and Cloud nodded "A few. Melee fighters attack the bottom, magic users and long distance fighters attack the top." Everyone nodded and charged into battle. Cloud stayed back and charged up his limit. After a few minutes Meteorain was finally ready. "Huh?" Cloud looked at Anima and saw something strange. It had also been charging an attack! "Anima! Use your overdrive, Oblivion!" Seymour commanded. Cloud would have to counter it with Meteorain. "Everyone move!" Cloud ordered. Anima's attack came in and Cloud jumped in the air and sent meteors flying at the aeon. Every attack that tried to hit them was countered by a meteor. They had survived, however Cloud's plan had been ruined. It was time for a gamble. "Keep it distracted and when I give the signal everyone take cover." Once again they all charged. Cloud waited for the right moment and then he ran straight at Anima. He jumped as high as he could and landed on the beasts back grabbing one of the chains wrapped around it. He pulled the chain which caused the aeon to turn but it was getting angry and repeatedly shot eye blasts, exactly what Cloud wanted. He made Anima face Seymour who had to jump for cover which gave Cloud the chance to thrust his sword into Anima's remaining eye. It screeched in pain and dissolved into pyreflies. Cloud jumped down and pointed his sword at Seymour. "Any last words?" Seymour just sat there on the ground in shock. "I didn't think so" Cloud slashed Seymour across the chest and finished him off.

"Yuna send-" Cloud was interrupted by Tromell's scream "Lord Seymour!" "We can explain!" Tidus exclaimed. "You did this!?" "You've got it all wrong." Cloud said but Tromell didn't care. "Stay away traitors!" Tromell shouted as he exited with Seymour's body. "Traitors?" Yuna questioned and Cloud shook his head "They are the traitors. They won't care what excuse we give them. Seymour was the leader of the guado so they will be framing us for this." "But we can just show them the sphere!" Rikku offered and Cloud shook his head again "It looks like Tromell has it because it's not here anymore." "We need to get out of here" Auron stated and Cloud agreed "Let's go!"

Cloud ran out and barged Tromell to the floor making a clear path for everyone to run. They exited the temple and Cloud stopped. He heard Aerith's voice and his eye's widened at the information he was just given. Only Yuna noticed him "Cloud what are you doing!?" "You just go! I'll catch up!" he replied. She was shouting something to him but he was already running back inside the temple.

The group was fighting off some guado when Yuna ran up to them. "Yuna! Where's Cloud?" Auron asked as he defeated one of the guards "He says he's coming!" "We don't have time for this!" Auron stated. All of a sudden a noise could be heard coming from the temple. They all turned and faced it. Guado were running out screaming and running away. Just then something smashed through the top window. It was Cloud on some kind of machina! He was going incredibly fast and he cut down all the guado coming their way. Yuna couldn't help but smile at his dramatic entrance.

Cloud stopped in front of the group "Miss me?" "Hm! Show off!" Rikku said with a smirk. "Get on the skis and let's get out of here." Cloud said. They zipped past all of the guards and almost made it out. Almost. There was some kind of yeti waiting for them at the end. Normally this would've been easy for Cloud to deal with but it hit the ground with incredible force making the ice break and causing them all to fall into the black abyss.


	8. Bikanel and The Assault on Bevelle

**Chapter 8 -** _ **Bikanel and The Assault on Bevelle**_

Cloud opened his eyes and found himself on the floor. His arms were wrapped around Yuna who was unconscious lying on top of him. He stood and propped Yuna up against a wall. Where were they? Cloud noticed a few collapsed buildings. These were the ruins of a lost city. Looking up Cloud could see the bottom of a temple, Macalania temple. "We're under the ice?" Cloud muttered to himself. The others had began to wake up. "Everyone still in one piece?" Cloud asked and the response was mostly positive. "Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Tidus asked and Cloud replied "There's no need to rush. Look up." as he pointed to the upwards everyone looked. "We're under the ice so even if we get out there will still be guado trying to kill us." "So what are we gonna do then?" Rikku asked "We wait." Lulu answered.

Cloud's attention turned to Yuna who was still unconscious. He knelt down beside her and brushed his and across her cheek. When he had fought Sephiroth and passed out because of blood loss he thought he saw Yuna kissing him. He stared at her with his mako eyes. It couldn't have been real, with all the blood loss it was probably a hallucination. "Is Yunie ok?" Rikku asked Cloud who blinked and turned to face her. He nodded and said "She'll be fine." "Are _you_ ok?". Cloud remained silent for a moment and turned back to Yuna "I'm fine" Rikku raised an eyebrow "Down in the love dumps?" "Huh?" "I could talk to her if you want." Cloud thought for a moment and said "I think I need to do it, but only when the time is right." "Fair enough Big C!". Cloud looked at Rikku puzzled "Big C?" he asked and Rikku laughed "Big Cloud!". Cloud smirked "Very clever, LT." "LT?" "Lightning Thunder." Cloud taunted "Hey!" they both started laughing.

Cloud's sleeve had been torn in the battle and Rikku noticed a red ribbon tied around his bicep. "Hey, Cloud?" "Yeah?" "Why do you wear that red ribbon?" Rikku asked curious as to what it meant to him. Cloud looked at his sleeve and saw the rip. He cursed to himself and said "It's a memento." as he ripped the sleeve off. "To what?" Cloud had gone silent. Oh god, what had she done? "Aerith. She was one of my closest friends, maybe more than that. She was killed by Sephiroth." Cloud said coldly. Rikku looked at him and saw sadness, anger and hatred in his eyes. "I'm sorry." "Don't be. It wasn't your fault or anyone else's. It was my fault." Cloud said. "Dilly dally, shilly shally." a voice echoed. Cloud stood and everyone turned towards them. A bright light appeared and took the form of a man and a woman "What is that?" Rikku asked and Cloud looked at her in shock "You can see them?" he asked.

"What are you guys doing here?" Cloud asked the figures "Good to see you too!" the male figure said sarcastically which make Cloud grin. "We thought it was time we introduced ourselves to your friends." the woman said. Cloud shrugged "Alright. Everyone! These are two of my closest friends, Zack and Aerith." "That's so heartwarming." Zack teased and Cloud sighed. "God damn it Zack. Why now anyway?" Cloud asked. Zack looked at Aerith who then said "We can't directly tell you but we can warn you. Something's about to happen and you all need to stay positive. If you lose hope then you will only find despair.". At that moment Yuna groaned and Cloud rushed over to her. "I guess that's our cue. See ya." Zack stated waving his arm as they both disappeared.

Tidus looked over at Cloud and Yuna. It seemed like Yuna was upset about something and Cloud was trying to calm her down. Whenever Tidus saw them together it made him wonder why he couldn't be like Cloud, smooth talking ladies so easily. Whenever Tidus tried talking to a woman he'd usually end up saying some stupid line because he got nervous and found it awkward. Whenever he looked at Rikku he tried to think of something he could say to get her to like him but nothing would ever come to his mind. Cloud could help him. He and Rikku were close so maybe Cloud could talk to her for Tidus. He would ask Wakka for advice as well but he would just end up mocking Tidus so he decided to just stick with Cloud.

"Are you ok?" Cloud asked Yuna who looked up at him slowly and blinked. She pile-drived him with a hug and wouldn't let go. Cloud could hear her sobbing into his shoulder. "I was so scared that I would never see you again! I'm sorry for not telling you my plan!" she wept still crying on Cloud's shoulder. "It's alright." Cloud said however Yuna responded with a shout "It's not! If I just told you my plan you wouldn't have been angry and you wouldn't have had to face Sephiroth alone!". Cloud didn't know she saw that. He looked down and muttered "It was my own stupid fault. I shouldn't have let my anger take over... I didn't use any technique which is why I got humiliated by him," Cloud paused for a moment and looked into Yuna's eyes. "Yuna.. I need to tell you something." her face seemed to light up and hope came to her eyes. "What is it you need to say?" "Yuna, I think I-" "There's something here!" Wakka shouted. Yet again Cloud was stopped from telling Yuna about his feelings towards her. "The ground!" Auron exclaimed and Cloud looked around for the caue of the problem. His eyes widened "Shit!" "Sin!" Yuna shouted. The oversized whale was here and was about to cause them a lot of problems. Is this what Aerith and Zack were talking about? "The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu warned, but it seemed to be too late for Cloud. Everything went blurry and he saw the others fall to the floor. He soon joined them and everything turned black.

Cloud's eyes shot open and he was rolling through some sand with Yuna in his arms. They stopped rolling and they were separated. Cloud blinked and saw someone taking Yuna. he couldn't see who because of the sun's intense light and the sand in his eyes. When his eyes focused he was on his feet about to pursue but he was encountered with 5 guado guards. "Get out of my way!" He exclaimed drawing his sword at the same time. With one swing he took one of them out. The others just grabbed him and didn't try to fight him they were trying to stop him. He broke free and sliced them all in the stomach which caused them all to fall to the floor and dissolve into pyreflies. He ran forward but there was no one to be seen. He had let them leave with Yuna. How could he have failed like that?

Tidus awoke in a pool of water. He swam out and onto the shore. Sand. Sand was all that could be seen. Where did the others end up? Were they here as well? Tidus would have to find out. He tried to remember the lesson Cloud had taught him, what did he say? 'If you're ever on your own always keep your sword out. You never know when something could jump out at you so it's better to be prepared'. Tidus drew Ice Brand and started to walk in the hopes that he would find someone. The fiends here weren't all that bad a few swings took them down easily enough. Tidus struck down a bird like fiend and shouted "That was easy! Where's the challenge!?". He immediately regretted it as a giant black bird fiend started circling him. "Uh, let's talk like civilised people. What do you say?" The bird didn't like his sense of human and lunged at him. Tidus just managed to get out of the way and there was only one option left for him. Run!

Rikku knew exactly where she was. This was near to the home of the Al Behd. All she had to do now was find the others and lead them to safety. It was a strange feeling knowing that she could single-handedly save all of her friends. This must be how Cloud felt all the time. Before she set off she ran to one of the shelters placed by the Al Bhed. Before setting off to find the others she took all the resources she could find at the small camp and sorted out her equipment. When she was ready she set off to the pool of water so she could get drinks for everyone.

Tidus was still running from the bird but his luck began to turn when he bumped into Auron who glanced at him and then at the bird. "Need some help?" he asked sarcastically before charging at the bird. A lightning bolt then hit the bird "Are you all right?" Lulu asked as she ran to them from over the hill. The three of them were no match for the bird and it was dissolved into pyreflies. "Any sign of the others?" Tidus asked and the response was no more than the shaking of heads.

Rikku had already found Kimahri and Wakka on her way to the pool of water so now there were only five more to find. Kimahri and Wakka were able to deal with most of the fiends, Rikku took a few out when possible although it wasn't very often. "I can't believe we just murdered a maester of Yevon..." Wakka said. Rikku sympathised with him. He had been a follower of Yevon all of his life and they had just killed one of the leaders. "Traitors... sounds about right" he whined and Rikku put her hand on his shoulder. She had seen Cloud do it in these situations so it must help some how. "It'll be all right Wakka. Think about it all we need to do is show them evidence and they will see that Seymour is the bad guy." It seemed like Wakka had finally accepted Rikku even thought she was Al Bhed. "But the evidence was destroyed." Wakka pointed out and Rikku loved this part. She shook her head and told him "I may have turned on a certain ex-SOLDIER's projector while it all happened. I figured they would try to destroy the evidence so I made a back up one!" Wakka's eyes lit up "You are brilliant, ya!"

It looked like their trip to the pool of water wasn't needed as they had found Tidus, Lulu and Auron about half way before it. "Have you seen Cloud or Yuna?" Rikku asked and the response was a hard no. Rikku decided to step up and fill in for Cloud, becoming the temporary leader considering she knew the place. Cloud was likely further towards the Al Bhed base with Yuna if he wasn't near the water so she lead them there. Rikku didn't know how Cloud could do this everyday. Battle orders were a nightmare to give out as she couldn't fight and give orders at the same time. They finally saw Cloud and Rikku felt like 100kg weights were just taken off of her shoulders.

They walked up to Cloud, however he didn't seem to be in the right state of mind. His was on his hands and knees and his fingers were dug into the sand. The worst part was looking at his eyes. They were wide open but there was no life in them. His pupils were practically just dots and you could feel the sadness radiating from him. "Are you alright Cloud?" Rikku asked him. Silence. He just sat there staring blankly at the ground. "Cloud?" Lulu said. "I, I, I failed." Cloud muttered and then he continued to say "Yuna's gone. I let them take her." "You what!?" Auron shouted. "Your number one priority as a guardian is to protect Yuna with your life! And you just let them take her!?" he continued. Chaos erupted. Some were defending Cloud some were backing up Auron and everyone was shouting. "Everyone be quiet!" Rikku screamed at the top of her lungs. They all looked at her apart from Cloud who was still staring at the floor. "This is what Aerith and Zack warned us about! They said we need to remain hopeful! So instead of arguing with each other lets go out and find her! My Dad will help us look so lets get going!"

Cloud knew Rikku was right. He had to get up and redeem himself. His face turned from having a sad and miserable expression to having a look determination. He stood and said "I will find Yuna and I will protect her. Now lets get moving!" everyone nodded and followed Rikku. While the others dealt with a fiend Cloud stopped Rikku and spoke to her. "Thank you." "What for?" "Your speech motivated me. Before I would've lost all hope and given up, but you made me realise that there's always hope no matter how bad the situation is the light of hope always shines." This made Rikku smile and they high fived.

As they walked up a sandy hill the sound of an alarm found it's way into Cloud's ear. Rikku ran up the hill and fell to her knees. Cloud ran up to her side and saw a base, no doubt the home of the Al Bhed. It was engulfed in flames. Destruction was everywhere and the culprits were none other than the guado. Cloud's encounter with them earlier began to make sense and it occurred to him that Yuna might be in there. He drew his sword and asked Rikku "If Yuna is in there where will she be?" who replied "The summoner's sanctum." in a depressed tone. Cloud turned to the others and stated "This isn't just about getting Yuna back. This is also revenge for what the guado have done to the Al Bhed." to his surprise Wakka of all people spoke up and said "Yeah, not even the Al Bhed deserve this!". It looked like Wakka had buried his hatred for the Al Bhed and Cloud was proud of him. Cloud nodded then ran straight for the base.

A few of the guado were outside attacking some of the Al Bhed, but Cloud jumped in and took them out easily enough. Despite his victory one of the Al Bhed fell to the floor. "You all ri-" "Keyakku!" Rikku ran straight towards him. It looked like he was one of her family members. Cloud knew how Rikku felt. He had seen his home town burn down to the ground as well. He wasn't about to let that happen to somebody else. Another Al Bhed walked over to Rikku and she said "Vydran.". Cloud had picked up a bit of Al Bhed and knew that it meant father. The man knelt beside 'Keyakku' and kissed him on the forehead. "You Rikku's friends? Well, just don't stand there, come on!" Cloud nodded "Lets bust on in!"

They all ran for the entrance and were immediately greeted by fiends. Cloud slashed one of them and it exploded upon contact causing Cloud to fly backwards, however he managed to land on his feet. "Forget about these enemies and just run ahead!" Cloud ordered and the group ran through. Rikku's Dad spoke in Al Bhed through a speaker asking for Rikku. "What did he say?" Wakka asked and the message was to get underground. "The summoners sanctum is this way!" "Get down!" Cloud shouted before throwing his sword at a guado guard after Rikku had ducked.

They worked their way through the corridors slaying fiends and sending guado to the farplane. Cloud glanced behind him and saw a lot of guado. He stopped running and the others looked at him. "Go." Cloud told them as he turned to face the hundreds of guado pursuing them. "No! We fight as one!" Lulu protested. Cloud sighed "Yuna is more important so go! I can handle them!". Cloud's tone made it clear as they all obeyed and ran through a door. His grip tightened and he charged at them. All of his instincts took over as he weaved in and out, dodging every attack and slashing his way through the crowd of guado. Cloud knew he would soon be over whelmed but he had already made preparations. Jumping back gave him the space he needed to perform Finishing Touch, his 6th and one of his most deadly limit breaks. The tornado he created caused absolute chaos and it would give the others enough time to get to the summoners sanctum. Cloud ran through the same door to re-join his allies.

Cloud was just outside the summoners sanctum and heard shouting. "The pilgrimages have to stop! If they don't and they get to Zanarkand...they might defeat Sin. Yunie could..but then she.. Yunie will die, you know!" Cloud waited for a moment. "With the final aeon she can beat Sin. But then...but then... If she calls it, then the final aeon will kill her!". He heard screams of agony and despair from Tidus, he was the only one who didn't know. Cloud looked down then kicked the door open. "Yuna won't die!" He shouted as he walked in. "That's why I'm here! My mission is to make sure Yuna stays alive! Yuna won't need the final aeon, I'll kill Sin and Sephiroth myself!"

Everyone was silent. Most of the time when Cloud made a comment like that they would all join in and show their spirit and determination. Did they not think he could do it? Did they think Cloud was going to fail? "You guys don't think I can do it?" "It's not that it's just-" "Just what!?" Cloud shouted interrupting Wakka demanding an explanation. Auron was the one who had the guts to give Cloud an answer "There's no way one person can single handedly defeat Sin. If it was that easy it would've been done a long time ago.". Cloud gritted his teeth and clenched his fists "So what? You're all going to give up!? You're gonna let Yuna die!?" "We want to save her but it's just impossible.." Lulu said which got Cloud even angrier. Yuna clearly wasn't here so they needed to find a way to locate her. "How can we find Yuna?" Cloud asked Rikku still seething with rage. "There might be a way to find her on the Airship." Rikku replied with fear in her voice. "Then lets hurry up and go."

Aboard the airship Cloud went straight for Rikku's father, Cid. He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "Find Yuna now!" Cloud commanded and Cid just grunted and said "I've already started so calm it down you spiky headed fool!". Cloud let go causing Cid to land on his rear end "You better find her.". Cid got up and told the pilot to set off. They slowly ascended into the sky and soon enough they were piercing through the air. Cid said something in Al Bhed and everyone looked at Rikku for a translation. "They're gonna blow up our home.." she told them in a depressed tone. Suddenly every crew member and Al Bhed on board started singing the Hymn of the Fayth as the missiles were sent towards the home. Flames erupted and the memories of those that lived there were destroyed along with the home.

Cloud stayed in the corner of the room away from everyone else leaning against the wall. He couldn't believe they didn't think it was possible to save Yuna. All he did was watch as Cid tried to locate Yuna, he didn't speak to anyone, he didn't look at anyone. "I think you can do it." a voice said. It was Rikku. "Hm?" "I've seen how strong you are but that's not why I think you can do it. You're smart and that's why you'll find a way to defeat Sin." "The others don't seem to think that.". Rikku shook her head and told Cloud "Tidus believes in you. We can convince the others and come up with a plan together.". Cloud looked down. In his mind he still had the intent on fighting Sephiroth alone but with Sin the idea of fighting along side everyone was more likely now. They could handle themselves, however there was still some doubt in the back of Cloud's mind.

"We found her!" on of the Al Bhed shouted and a holographic image appeared on the screen of the airship. It showed Yuna in a wedding dress standing next to someone. Cloud's hands turned to fists as he realised who it was. "Seymour.." He muttered to himself. "Where was that!?" Tidus questioned and Lulu replied "The palace of St. Bevelle. The heart of Yevon." "Gramps, let's move!" Tidus exclaimed. Cid looked at Tidus as if he was mad and told him that Bevelle's defences were 'top-notch'. "I'll break through their defence just get me there." Cloud stated and Cid replied "Heh! You got guts! Set course for Bevelle!"

"What's Seymour still doing alive?" Rikku asked and Cloud shrugged "I don't know but he'll die by my hand when we get to Bevelle.". Cloud glanced at Auron who had began to talk to him "Make sure Yuna can send him otherwise he'll just come back again." Cloud just grunted and looked away. There was a crash and then screaming could be heard. One of the Al Bhed ran in and said they were being attacked from the inside. "Some of the guado that attacked Home must've snuck oln board." he continued. Guado, that was the last thing Cloud needed nevertheless he simply took out his sword and walked down the corridor.

An attack came from the left and the right at the same time however Cloud stepped backwards and the two attacking guado hit each other and dissolved into pyreflies. They seemed to be coming from the top of the ship so that was Cloud's target. He easily defeated all the guado that had the guts to challenge him and he made it to the top. "Now that's a rare sight." Auron said as some kind of winged creature glided along with the airship out of the window. "What is that!?" Tidus exclaimed and Lulu informed them that it was 'the guardian wyrm Evrae' as she called it. "The great sacred beast - protector of Bevelle." "I don't care what it is. If it's trying to stop us it dies." Cloud stated making it clear that he didn't care what he had to face he was getting Yuna.

Cloud ran outside before anyone could stop him and the great beast emerged from the clouds. It reminded Cloud of one of the Weapons only not robotic. Evrae's first attack came in and Cloud rolled aside. It seemed like Evrae was trying to figure out Cloud's fighting style just like he was doing. Cloud took the advantage and tricked the beast by mainly using materia to attack it. When it came in close Cloud struck it with his sword and it screeched in pain. Cloud struck it again and it flew straight up into the sky. The others had finally come out and there timing was great. "I'll need some help jumping that high." Cloud said and they all nodded. Cloud climbed on their hands and as he jumped they pushed him up at the same time. Cloud slashed and sliced at Evrae but he was hit back down. Kimahri knew what to do though. He span his spear around and when Cloud was level with it he landed on it and kicked off of Kimahri's spear. As Cloud flew through the air Evrae shot a plasma ball at Cloud and he pierced through it. He grunted as the realisation kicked in that he wasn't going to make it all the way through. His eyes widened and all of AVALANCHE were in front of him, all offering their hands. Cloud narrowed his eyes and made it through the plasma ball. He swung at Evrae's mouth and flipped over on to it's back. Cloud's fusion sword pierced it's back and he ran along it dragging his sword through as he did and flipped off. Evrae dissipated into a bright light of pyreflies and Cloud fell down onto the airship landing on his feet.

Yuna walked up the stairs next to Seymour. She only had a small window to do this but she had to try and send him. Puzzled looks were on everyone's faces as pyreflies could be seen falling from the sky. Yuna saw something. Something big. An airship! Could it be her guardians? Had Cloud come to rescue her?

"There's Bevelle!" Tidus shouted and Cloud wasn't waiting for anyone. "I'll see you all down there." "Wait Cloud-" Lulu tried to say something but Cloud was already jumping over the side and down towards the palace. Bullets were shot at him but he was able to deflect them all and then he landed. "Seymour! You're dead!" Cloud shouted as he charged an entire army of yevonites. He hacked and slashed his way through the crowd. By using a combination of physical attacks and magic attacks it was a breeze for Cloud and nobody could touch him. The others had just landed however they were soon surrounded by yevonites and Cloud was already at the centre. "KYT-63 and YAT-99 deploy!" Someone shouted and machina robots were let loose. Cloud knew something wasn't right about Yevon. They were going against there own teachings. Cloud swung his sword and took off an arm of the YAT and then the KYT came in kicking him away. The two worked together as a unit which made things difficult. This was normally easy for Cloud as all he needed to do was combine his attack with Lulu's and they would be destroyed however he had been cut off from his friends.

Cloud ducked and rolled to try and avoid their attacks however they kept hitting him. Cloud's anger and rage had built up and he had had enough. His limit was ready and destruction was about to occur. He raised his sword horizontally and wind blew arround him as a yellow light formed on the tip of his sword. Omnislash was unleashed. Cloud was a blur of black and yellow as every enemy in his path was cut down and demolished. He flipped up the stairs and slammed his sword down on the remaining guards. The others had rejoined him and they faced Seymour, but suddenly Kinoc appeared. "Drop your weapons!" They were surrounded by guards with guns aimed directly at them, Cloud could take a few bullets because of the mako but they didn't have mako running through their blood so there was no other option. Cloud lowered his sword and glanced at Yuna. Their eyes locked and she brought out her staff. She began performing the sending until Maester Mika said "Stop! Do you not value your friends' lives? Your actions determine their fate. Protect them...or throw them away!"

"Don't listen to him Yuna! Do it!" Cloud shouted and Yuna looked at him with those big sad eyes. She dropped her staff. Cloud grunted. Seymour smirked at Cloud and walked to Yuna. He placed his hands on her shoulders and glanced at Cloud once again. Then he, kissed her. "Urgh! Seymour!" Cloud roared. All of the guardians had to hold Cloud back so he didn't get himself killed but Cloud was using all of his strength to get to Seymour. He didn't care if he died he just wanted to see Seymour dead. "Let them go! Or else..." Yuna threatened as she walked backwards towards the edge of the building. Seymour waved his hands and they lowered their weapons. Big mistake. Cloud broke free and lashed out. He sliced Kinoc across the chest and lunged for Seymour who barely blocked his attack. "Cloud go!" Yuna shouted to him and gave him a look. She was going to meet them at the chamber of the fayth. Cloud nodded and kicked Seymour away. "This is foolish! If you fall you'll die!" Seymour said and Yuna said "Don't worry. I can fly." and she jumped over the side. In dramatic style Yuna flew back up on Valefore and Cloud smiled turned to the group and shouted "Follow me!"

 **This should be the last week of my exams so chapters can be posted faster by the end up the week until May. :-)**


	9. Escape from Bevelle

**Chapter 9 - _Escape from Bevelle_**

Everything turned white and a ringing noise could be heard as Cloud threw down a flash bomb. They all ran without a destination until Cloud told Auron to lead them to the chamber of the Fayth. Many of the yevonites were still trying to stop them but they were easy enough to handle with the flash bomb disorienting them. "The chamber is just through here." Auron said and Cloud nodded "Yuna is in there and we need to protect her at all costs!" he stated as he ran into the temple with the others following him.

Bevelle, the heart of Yevon. Some heart this turned out to be. "What's a machina doing in the temple?" Wakka questioned with surprise lingering in his voice. Cloud walked over to the machina and examined it. He pressed a button and the whole party started moving on a downward spiral. Once they had reached the bottom of the spiral elevator they continued on where they found another machina. "Yevon has shown their true colours." Cloud said and Auron chipped in with "They betray their own teachings.". Cloud looked over at Wakka who muttered "They treated us like dirt..." he put his hand on Wakka's shoulder and said "There's no use in thinking about it you just have to look ahead to the future."

As soon as those words left his mouth Cloud realised he needed to take his own advice. All these years he had been blaming himself for the death of Aeris and Zack when he should've been looking ahead. Cloud looked down for a moment then carried on walking. The place reminded him of a mako reactor only without the mako and a lot more colourful. They stopped at the bridge just outside of the entrance to the cloister of trials. "Do you really think Yunie's in there?" Rikku asked "Hm." Cloud carried on walking without answering. He didn't need to answer. There was no doubt in Cloud's mind, Yuna was just beyond the trials.

The trial really reflected the true face of Yevon. All the machines, all the betrayal in this one room. Cloud was disgusted. It wasn't too difficult for Cloud and Rikku as they had worked with technology before, the others had a bit of trouble however they managed to get through. As soon as Cloud entered he ran straight for the ante chamber. Tidus was right along side him and they both lifted the door open. "H-hey!" Wakka shouted and Cloud responded with "The whole religion's a scam, you saw that for yourself. There's no reason to follow the teachings anymore!" as he ran inside.

"Hm?" Cloud saw Yuna kneeling before some kind of spirit. All Cloud could do was watch in amazement as the spirit joined forces with Yuna causing the two to be intertwined. After the fusion was complete Yuna fell to the floor. "Yuna!" Cloud exclaimed as he ran to her side. He picked her up like a baby and carried her outside. "Huh?" Cloud was greeted by an army of yevonites and guado. "Put the girl down and come with us quietly, or suffer the death of your friends." Kinoc said seemingly happy with himself. Cloud growled. He couldn't risk their lives so he put Yuna down and gave up his weapon. How did Kinoc possibly survive Cloud's attack? "How dare you betray you're own teachings!" Cloud confronted Kinoc who simply chuckled "You aren't in any position to be making comments like that." while putting a gun right into Cloud's neck. Cloud cursed to himself and realised he had been beaten.

Cloud didn't know where he was but he knew he had been separated from the others. He saw them being lead to some sort of court room which meant they were keeping Cloud contained so he couldn't try anything. There was only one thing to do in a situation like this. Cloud scouted the area and looked for possible escape routes, however none could be seen. He was inside a huge cage that hung from the ceiling. Taking a look beneath him all that could be seen was a bottomless pit of darkness. Other cages could be seen and Cloud could only assume that they were for his fellow comrades. Slumping down to the floor Cloud punched the thick metal bar of his cage. He had Yuna in his arms but yet again she was taken away. A sigh was let out and he didn't see a way out of this. Death was all that awaited them. They wouldn't get a fair trial, not from the corrupt maesters. Cloud just closed his eyes and waited.

Shouting could be heard and Cloud opened his eyes. Everyone was escorted out of the court room and put into the other cages. Cloud couldn't see any of them other than Auron and Tidus who were just above him. "What happened?" He asked them and Tidus was too outraged to answer him so Auron filled him in. "So Maester Mika is unsent?" Cloud asked and Auron nodded. "What was the verdict?" "Do you really need to asked?" Auron said hinting that the trial was unfair just as Cloud thought. "So it all ends here?" Cloud muttered and Tidus shouted "No!"

Cloud looked up at him and Tidus said "You're telling me you're just going to give up!? This isn't the Cloud Strife I know! The one I know would stand up and fight! Not admit defeat and allow himself to be killed!". Cloud didn't reply. He looked down and sighed. Suddenly his attention was drawn to the red ribbon tied around his left arm. Aeris had told him not to lose hope or he would fail. He wasn't going to give up. Cloud was going to get everyone out of here safely. "You're right. I have an idea."

Cloud had been awake for a while constructing an escape plan and when he had finally fallen asleep a guard shouted "Hey you! Wake up blonde!" which caused Cloud's eyes to shoot open. He stood up and shrugged "What the hell do you want?" and the guard just smirked "Your punishment awaits.". Cloud was led out of the cage being hand-cuffed as he walked out and was taken to the left the opposite direction from everyone else. "Why are they going that way?" Cloud asked and the guard said "Because they have a different punishment. Unlike you those idiots won't be able to survive the Via Purifico. The maesters were ready to put you in there until Lord Seymour told them you would survive." "So what is my fate?" "You are to be brought before Lord Seymour and he will decide what to do with you."

Cloud wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to face Seymour without any of his weapons or materia, that's where his plan kicked in. Looking around it seemed that a few more guards were surrounding him to make sure he didn't escape which made it a little bit more difficult to carry out his plan, but he wasn't worried. "You can tell Seymour I'm heading for the Via Purifico exit. If he wants to kill me then he can kill me on fair terms." Cloud stated and the guard looked at him "What did you just-" THWACK! Cloud kicked the guard backwards and ran for it. He heard the others yelling at him telling him to stop but Cloud kept going. They opened fire and Cloud saw his opportunity. He raised his hands and one of the bullets hit the chains of his hand-cuffs which then released him.

Running back towards the guards Cloud analysed their equipment. No melee weapons. All Cloud needed to do was dodge the guns and he'd be fine. He slid along the floor and swept a guard off his legs while standing up, one down three to go. One of them tried striking Cloud with their gun but Cloud side stepped and grabbed the handle. He was a lot stronger than the guard so he aimed his gun at the others and began firing using the guard as a shield. They opened fire and Cloud's shield was killed but he managed to shoot the other two down which only left the one on the floor.

Cloud grabbed him by the collar and said "Tell me where my swords are now!" "U,uh they're being stored in the court room! Don't kill me! Please!" the guard whimpered in fear. Cloud pulled him to his feet and picked up a gun pushing it into the guards neck. "Take me there!" "A,alright!"

Yuna had been lucky. She found Lulu almost immediately which relieved her a bit. "Are you all right!?" Lulu asked frantically as she gave Yuna a big hug. "I'm fine." Yuna chuckled as Lulu straightened her clothes. It was strange with Lulu sometimes she was a big sister to Yuna and sometimes she was a mom. "The others have probably already started making their way to the exit so let's get moving!" Lulu sad and Yuna nodded.

Not long after they set off they saw Auron taking down a fiend. "Have you seen the others?" Lulu asked and Yuna blurted out "Have you seen Cloud?". Auron looked at them and said "I haven't seen anybody, but I suspect they are already there. Look." he pointed at a few slashes in the wall which was either from Kimahri or Tidus. "Stay on guard. The Via Purifico is very dangerous and not to be taken lightly."

Cloud took his weapons and turned to face the guard. "Go tell Seymour I'll be waiting for him outside of the Via Purifico exit." Cloud said and the guard scurried off. Cloud didn't know where the exit was but that was the beauty of his plan. He was going to follow Seymour there and get a surprise attack on him. Cloud waited until he saw Seymour and he shadowed him making sure he kept his distance so he didn't get spotted. It was only a matter of time now before Cloud got his revenge and killed that god damn guado.

The three of them had found Kimahri along the way, but the fiends were still very strong. If it wasn't for Bahamut then Yuna didn't think they would've made it out alive. They saw Tidus, Rikku and Wakka waiting at the exit and Yuna's first question was "Why are you all wet?" "Why are you all dry!?" Tidus exclaimed as he exchanged looks with Rikku and Wakka. "So you're telling me that you guys didn't have to swim underwater and fight a giant fish!?" "Uh huh" Yuna replied and Tidus crouched down for a moment and regained his composure. "Have you seen Cloud?" Yuna asked again and they all shook their heads. "He wasn't with us." Rikku said. He wasn't in here either which worried Yuna. "I think I saw some guards taking him somewhere else so let's get out of here and look for him." Tidus said which everyone agreed with. The clanging of metal could be heard just outside the exit and everyone looked at each other "Cloud!"

Cloud had taken out both of Seymour's guards and said "You know you should really pay more attention to your surroundings." Seymour just started chuckling. "Huh?" Cloud was confused, however he was glad to see Yuna and the others emerge from the Via Purifico. "Cloud!" Yuna shouted. Suddenly the air went ice cold. Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Ha ha ha" there was only one voice that could pierce through your skin like that. "Sephiroth." Cloud growled. "It's time." Sephiroth said and Seymour nodded "I couldn't agree more.". Were they working together!? "This is your end." Sephiroth stated as he waved his hand causing Seymour to transform. Sephiroth had vanished and Seymour had taken on some kind of god like form. "You will all perish!" he bellowed.

Cloud raised his sword and flipped over Seymour so he was in front of Yuna. "Take Yuna and go" Cloud told the others and Auron nodded "He's right we need to go!" Kimahri took Yuna by the hand and started running along with everyone else. "What a nobble act. Too bad it will be in vain!" Seymour said seething with anger. Cloud lunged and took a swipe at him. He was sent flying along the bridge they were fighting on. Cloud did the usual and analysed his fighting style. Something was strange. This pattern seemed familiar to Cloud. His eyes widened. This was Jenova's fighting style! Had Seymour somehow fused with her? An attack came in and Cloud jumped out of the way barely in time before Seymour's attack left a huge impact crater on the ground. Cloud jumped in the air and tried out a flurry of quick attacks however he was cast aside and was thrown to the floor.

As Kimahri pulled Yuna along she looked behind her and saw Cloud on the floor. She pulled away from Kimahri and her hand was freed. "We have to help Cloud!" She shouted and she wasn't going to take no for an answer as she started running towards Cloud. The others looked at each other and nodded as they followed Yuna into battle.

Cloud was just about to be hit again until a spear and a sword blocked Seymour's attack. "You owe us one." Auron stated and Kimahri said "No friends left behind.". Cloud smirked and raised his sword. "Keep him busy." Cloud ordered everyone and they all charged into battle. Cloud grabbed Yuna's arm stopping her from charging "Not you. You're gonna help me. Summon Bahamut and wait for my signal." Yuna nodded and performed the summon. Cloud jumped on Bahamut's back and waited for the right moment. Bahamut performed a few attacks which seemed to cause Seymour some trouble. The others were holding their own and managed to make Seymour slip up and let his guard down. This was Cloud's chance. He jumped on to Seymours back and pierced through him as he landed. Seymour roared in pain and he was temporarily paralysed. "Now Yuna!" Cloud shouted. She ordered Bahamut to use Mega Flare and a blue beam of energy was shot at Seymour. Cloud didn't tell Yuna that if he moved Seymour would be able to move again so as a result of Cloud staying on Seymour he felt the impact of the attack causing him to fly backwards.

Cloud was lay on his stomach and looked up at Seymour. His body had begun to dissolve and all of his muscles were contracting. They had won. After Seymour had dissipated Cloud heard people calling his name but he couldn't respond. His eyes were heavy and they had began to close. A few heavy blinks later and Cloud was out.

When Cloud awoke he found himself in Macalania. He blinked and the glow from his mako eyes must have been the give away that he was awake. "Are you ok?" Rikku asked him and he replied "I'm fine." as he sat up. He looked around and Yuna was missing. As he stood up he asked "Where's Yuna?" "Off in the woods by the lake. Kimahri is with her but I think you should go and talk to her." Lulu replied and Cloud nodded making his way to the lake.

"Yuna is in lake." Kimahri told Cloud as he walked by and he nodded. He walked into the lake where he saw Yuna staring at a waterfall. "Long time no see." He said and she quickly turned around to see him. She hugged him tightly and said "I was so worried about you!" "Hm. That makes both of us." Cloud said with a smirk. Yuna looked down and Cloud knew something was up. "Everything ok?" "It's just. Tidus told me he found out what will happen to me when I beat Sin and it reminded me about all the things I can't do... I'll never have a family, I'll never get to see your Gaea." Yuna said with a dismal tone and Cloud shook his head "You will. I won't let anything stop you. When you come to Gaea we can go to the Gold Saucer." "And we can watch the play you told us about and we can go on the gondolas!" Yuna exclaimed. Cloud nodded and said "You can try riding a chocobo and watch me laugh at you when you fall off." with a grin on his face "Hey! I would be a natural at it!" Yuna giggled and they both started laughing.

Yuna stopped laughing and looked down again. "But, I. I can't. I just can't." She sobbed. Cloud knew she still thought she was going to die and he wanted to help her he really did. She just cried. Her tears fell into the lake and formed ripples. "Yuna...I.." Cloud said trying to get his words out but they wouldn't come so he decided show his emotions instead. His hands had started shaking he was so nervous. What was wrong with him he was never usually like this. He took the risk and lent in kissing her on her soft luscious lips. Both of their eyes closed and time stood still. Suddenly all of their troubles, all of the world's problems vanished and they were frozen in this perfect moment. Cloud swam underwater with her and they circled each other with their hands in one an others. Yuna was beaming with happiness and for the first time in a long time Cloud was smiling full of joy. He was actually smiling with meaning and it was the first time Yuna had seen him smile like that. Pyreflies were all around them which made the lake glow. It reflected the entire mood of the special moment, full of love and passion. All of Cloud's depression, all of his negative feelings were washed away by the touch of Yuna's lips. Cloud's eyes were almost glowing as much as the pyreflies with the mako expressing his happiness and love for Yuna rather than emitting the usual dismal glow while Yuna's eyes one blue and one green were sparkling in pure beauty. They came together again brushing aside the force of the water and shared another kiss underwater spiralling upwards and emerging from underneath.

Cloud woke up just on the shore of the lake with Yuna in his arms. As she slept Cloud just watched her and smiled. For once in his life he wasn't worrying, he wasn't depressed, he was finally happy. He just lay there for a few minutes enjoying the small moment they had together until he realised Yuna was awake also enjoying the moment. "We should get going." Cloud said to her and she nodded as they both stood up. "What do we tell the others?" Yuna asked and Cloud replied "We don't need to say anything they'll realise before the day is up."

They walked back to the camp with their hands locked together. The others saw them approaching and stood up. Cloud saw them all glance at their hands. Yuna's hair was a mess and Cloud's sword sheath was all crooked. "And what did you two get up to last night then?" Wakka questioned and they just kept silent. Lulu saved them and said "We should get going to the Calm Lands.". Cloud nodded and said "Get ready we leave in five minutes."

As they approached the Calm Lands Cloud and Yuna were still holding hands. Being with Yuna made Cloud feel like his old self back when he first started the journey to find Sephiroth with AVALANCHE, full of life, full of happiness. Wakka walked up to Cloud carrying two familiar looking swords. "Hey Cloud when Seymour was defeated these two swords were left in the remains. I figured you would want them." he said as he handed the swords to Cloud. They were smaller than the others but they were the last ones needed to complete the fusion sword bringing it to it's full power.

"The Calm Lands. Long ago the high summoners fought Sin here. The road ends here." Lulu said as they walked up the over hanging hill. The view reminded Cloud of when he left Midgar with Aerith Barret Tifa and Red. Yuna fell backwards to lie down on the soft grass breathing out a sigh as she did. Cloud looked ahead and saw a mountain towering high up into the sky. "What's that?" he asked and Lulu answered "Mount Gagazet, home to the Ronso tribe." "And beyond that is Zanarkand." Yuna added. Cloud offered his hand to Yuna and she took it allowing him to pull her up to her feet "Let's go."

 **Please leave a review so I know what you guys want to see next! It's been great being able to write this properly again and I can't wait to start the next chapter!**


	10. Gagazet Climb

**Chapter 10 - _Gagazet Climb_**

After passing through most of the Calm Lands the group stopped at a small Al Bhed shop. Cloud spoke with one of the Al Bhed and they told him that Cid said the airship had to be repaired and they would pick them up later. Something at the stall caught Cloud's eye. Two identical lockets were what caught his interest. "For lovers." The Al Bhed shopkeeper informed Cloud who nodded and said "I'll take them."

As Cloud put one of the lockets around his neck Rikku popped up from no where and asked "So are you and Yuna an item now?" full of curiousity "That's right." "It's about time!" Rikku exclaimed sarcastically with a grin on her face. Cloud smirked and turned to face the group. They were talking to some guy wearing a green robe, he looked like a priest of some kind. "Any idea who that is?" Cloud asked Rikku and she just shook her head. The man walked away just as Cloud approached the group. "Who was that?" he asked them and Lulu was the one to answer him. "Father Zuke. He was my second summoner, Wakka's first." "Ya, Father Zuke's Pilgrimage was cut short. After he made it here something just made him change his mind." Wakka explained. So this was Wakka's second pilgrimage and Lulu's third. Cloud wandered what happened to her first but he wasn't going to ask her now. Instead he asked "What was he doing here?" "We are now deemed as traitors of Yevon and we are to be killed on sight. That's what he told us." Auron told Cloud which made everyone go silent.

Yuna turned to Cloud and said "So, we're officially traitors...". Cloud shook his head in disagreement. "The way I see it, the maesters are the traitors not us. They're the ones who have murdered and gone against their own teachings which makes them the traitors," Cloud said which comforted Yuna a bit. "By the way. I got you something." he continued as he took the other locket out of his pocket. "That's beautiful!" Yuna said expressing her gratitude with a kiss. The locket was the shape of an eye and had an ancient emerald like gem on it with a pattern carved into it. Yuna opened the locket and there was a picture of Cloud. "I have one too but with your picture inside so now we'll never truly be seperated again. We'll always be with in each others hearts." Cloud said as he helped her put it on. "Hey Bubby! Come here a sec!" Wakka shouted seeming rather excited. Cloud glanced at Yuna who told him to go.

As he left her side he could see Lulu asking her questions, no doubt because of their kiss. Cloud chuckled as he made eye contact with Yuna who tried her best not to start laughing. "What is it Wakka?" he asked and Wakka pointed into the distance. Cloud looked over and saw some kind of arena. "It's a monster arena!" Wakka explained and Tidus asked "Can we go!?" which made Cloud smirk "Just like kids."

As soon as those words left his mouth a chill went up his spine. His mind flashed back to his days as a Shinra soldier. 'Just like kids'. Sephiroth had said those exact words to Cloud and Zack before when they were excited about a mission. He heard cold laughter in the back of his mind which pierced through his brain like an icicle. Cloud held his head and his eyes narrowed as he relived the Nibelheim incident in his head. Flames surrounded him. Blood was everywhere. How could one person cause such destruction? The roar of the flames, the screams of the people, the cries of help from his mom. All of this caused by that one man. Sephiroth. "Are you ok Cloud?" Wakka said with concern in his voice. Cloud was pulled out of that nightmare and back into the real world, of course he was ok. "I'm fine. Let's get moving to that arena." Cloud replied which made Wakka and Tidus punch the air in success.

They arrived at the arena and saw groups of people waiting around outside. Cloud noticed they were all in groups of 3 and it looked like they were waiting for something. He and the guardians walked inside and went to the counter. "You here to sign up for the tournament?" The old guy said at the desk and Cloud shrugged "Tournament?" "You mean you don't know? Huh a tough lookin' guy like you not knowing about this tournament surprises me. Ok I'll explain it to you." the man decided. Cloud scratched the back of his head and said "I didn't ask wh-" "Warriors from all over Spira have gathered here to win a legendary sword. No one knows where it came from, but when it was found the sword was stuck in the ground just in front of some flowers almost like a memento to something. Cloud's eyes widened "Can I see this sword?" he asked and the old man nodded.

Cloud tensed up as the old man presented the sword to them. "Experts have found out it's name, but I can't remember it. The 'Basher Sword' or the 'Blunder Sword', something like that." "The Buster Sword." Cloud muttered and the man nodded frantically "That's it!". The other guardians could sense Cloud's anger as they all back off slowly however Yuna remained by his side. "You had no right to take that sword." he said quietly which made the old man burst out laughing. "Look kid stop acting as if you know why it was there alright. Now do you want to sign up or not?". Cloud looked behind him a few were shaking their heads a few were nodding their heads. Tidus Wakka and Rikku were all nodding, which was obvious, Auron and Lulu were shaking their heads and Kimahri didn't seem like he cared. The only opinion that mattered was Yuna's so he looked to her. "Go for it!" she shouted and Cloud smiled. "Sign me up." he said and the old guy replied "Actually you're required to have a team of three. Maybe two of your friends would join you." After Cloud made his decision it seemed as though there were enough teams to get started. The old man gave a stupid speech, which Cloud ignored, and then he announced that the tournament was under way.

Cloud, Tidus and Wakka waited for their first opponents. He had chosen Tidus and Wakka as he felt that they would have the most fun which is something everyone in the group needed at the moment. As they waited the other contestants gathered around the outside of the arena. Cloud stretched his muscles and prepared for the fight until he heard shouting. Tidus and Wakka were arguing with another team so Cloud went to investigate. "Look at them! They don't even have any armour!" one of them shouted while the others laughed. Cloud moved in front of Tidus and Wakka. "Is there a problem here?" he asked and they started laughing again. "What is this guy wearing!? You do realise it'll take a lot more than a shoulder pad to defend against attacks don't you!?". Cloud chuckled at their comment "And just who are you guys?" "We're the Musketeers of Luca! The name's Gunner." The leader said and the other two followed with "Mills." and "Xander.". Cloud chuckled to himself "Just watch us fight and then try to mock us."

Their opponents finally arrived. They met in the middle of the arena to shake hands. Cloud wasn't worried. "Tidus you take the small one, he'll be quick and agile so you will be able to keep up with him. I'll take the big one and Wakka you're take out their mage got it?" "Got it!" they both shouted. Cloud took out his sword and glanced over at his friends. They were all cheering for them and Cloud made eye contact with Yuna. He gave her a wink which made her blush and then smile. There was a small section for the referee where he stood and said "Ready? Fight!"

Cloud charged straight for the muscular warrior who was carrying a two-handed battle axe. He saw him readying a swing and knew exactly what to do. Cloud slide on the floor and went through his legs dodging the attack. The big guy managed to turn around just in time to block Cloud's strike. Cloud swung a few more times and backed him into a corner where he put his sword underneath the axe. He then pulled away disarming his opponent and swept him off his feet. It was an easy fight for Cloud and turning around to see Tidus and Wakka finish off their opponents as well made Cloud smirk. "Winners!" the referee shouted and Cloud walked straight towards the Musketeers. "See you in the final." was all Cloud said before praising Tidus and Wakka.

All the other fights were easy enough for Cloud, however Tidus and Wakka had been struggling since the quarter finals. They had managed to make it to the final and Cloud couldn't have been happier with his opponents. The Musketeers were to be their opponents. Cloud, Tidus and Wakka met them in the middle to shake their hands. Cloud made sure his grip was tight when he shook Gunner's hand. He made it very clear that he wasn't going to lose. The three of them went back to their corner and Cloud gave them their orders. "Alright I've been watching their fights and I've figured out all of ther fighting styles. Gunner is a long range attacker, Mills is close combat and Xander is a battle mage. Gunner will stay at the back while Mills and Xander take the fight to us so watch out for his attacks. You know how much that sword means to me so let's win this." Tidus and Wakka nodded and the three of them took out their weapons.

As soon as the ref shouted fight Cloud dived straight in. Just as he expected gunner stayed back while the other two came in close. Xander had some kind of spell that gave him a weapon and Mills just had a sword. Cloud blocked both of their attacks which allowed Tidus and Wakka to come in and get a clean hit on them. A range attack came in and Cloud barely stopped the electrical arrow from hitting Tidus. "You two focus on Gunner I'll take these two." Cloud ordered.

Rolling out of the way of a lightning blast Cloud sent his own lightning spell back at Xander. It landed and made him stumble backwards which gave Cloud time to fight Mills one on one. Cloud's first strike came in and Mills blocked it. He wasn't the fastest of people so Cloud used that to his advantage by launching a flurry of attacks. Eventually Mills couldn't keep up and Cloud managed to hit him to the ground disarming him at the same time and putting him out of the fight. A few ice spikes came in but Cloud was able to turn his body and dodge them. Cloud kept countering the spells with the opposite element or by blocking them with his sword. He slowly advanced on Xander and finally got him into a corner. Cloud struck his weapon and it immediately fell out of Xander's hands. With Xander's weapon on the floor Cloud swept him off his feet easily. When Cloud turned he saw Tidus and Wakka on the floor. How could they have been beaten by this idiot? Gunner was equipped with a bow and arrow. The bow was nothing special but he had many different arrows ranging from elemental to poisonous. Arrows came flying in at Cloud but he was able to deal with them easily. Cloud charged and just as he did an arrow was shot straight at him. It was only thanks to the mako in his blood that he was able to pull off such an impressive maneuver. Time slowed down as he examined the angle and speed of the arrow. He raised his sword and swung downwards slicing the arrow in half. Cloud lunged and attacked. His sword cut straight through the wooden bow like a knife through butter. Gunner was hit to the floor and Cloud was victorious.

"The tournament is over! The winners are Cloud, Tidus and Wakka!" The announcer exclaimed "Where's the sword?" Cloud asked and the old man walked towards the centre with the sword in his hand. Cloud was surprised at how the old guy was able to carry it so easily. He made his way to the centre and the old man said "Here is your prize. You've earned it Chocoboy!" as he handed Cloud the Buster sword. "How do you know about..." Cloud didn't finish his sentence. The old man flickered and Zack appeared for just a moment. Cloud sighed and muttered "God damn you Zack.". Zack laughed and said "I had to make sure you were ready for it. Anyway it gave you the chance to show off in front of your girlfriend, you should be thanking me." "Shut up." Cloud replied with a smirk on his face.

Cloud sheathed the Buster Sword as they continued to walk. "I knew you would win." Yuna said to Cloud with a smile on her face. Their hands came together again and they locked like two jigsaw pieces. "They were all amateurs. Nothing I couldn't handle," Cloud said playing it cool but Yuna just giggled "What's so funny?" he asked "You!" she replied full of laughter. Cloud smirked "So that's what it's gonna be like?" he said sarcastically. They made eye contact and Yuna's eyes widened "No!" she shouted while giggling. Cloud grabbed her and pulled her down to the floor. They started rolling down a hill and when they stopped Yuna was on top of Cloud. Grass was in both of their hair and both styles had been messed up. Yuna leaned in and kissed Cloud which he didn't complain about. "Get a room you two!" Wakka shouted from a top the hill. Everyone was staring at them and Yuna got up very quickly. She blushed a bit and laughed off her embarrassment. Cloud kicked up and landed on his feet. Judging from the big mountain towering over them Cloud knew that Gagazet wasn't far away. "So after Gagazet what's next?" he asked and what he heard was the worst thing he had heard in a long time. "Zanarkand." Lulu muttered.

It was Cloud's job to make sure Yuna wouldn't die and yet he still didn't figure out how he was going to do that. He had thought about trying to defeat the final aeon but if it could take down Sin what chance did he have? Cloud noticed that it had gone silent. Everyone was looking at Cloud, waiting for his big plan to save Yuna but he didn't have squat. "Let's keep moving." Cloud said as he turned to face Mt Gagazet.

Mt Gagazet. Home of the Ronso tribe. Cloud knew they were being watched, although he didn't know why. Suddenly two of the Ronsos jumped down from the mountain preventing the group from advancing. An older Ronso appeared from the entrance to the Gagazet climb he looked familiar as did the two that jumped down. "Summoner Yuna and guardians, you may not pass! The mountain will not bear the footsteps of infidels!" the older Ronso declared and one of the two bigger Ronsos added "Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso! Leave, traitors!". Cloud recognised the two bigger Ronsos as Biran and Yenke, Kimhari had told him about the pair when Cloud first encountered them in Luca. "I have cast aside Yevon! I follow the temple no more!" Yuna stated boldly which seemed to hit a nerve as the older Ronso shouted "Then you will die by those words!"

Cloud knew that this wasn't the place to start a fight so he didn't take out his weapons as all the others did, instead he simply said "We are not the traitors. The maesters of Yevon are the traitors. They have gone against their own teachings and don't care what happens to their people." "Lord Kelk Ronso have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?" Lulu added which clicked Cloud's mind. He had heard of Kelk Ronso, he was a maester of Yevon however it seemed like he had left that position behind in Bevelle. "They're nothing but a bunch of low-down tricksters, eh?" Wakka said which was the statement Cloud had been waiting for. Wakka had finally turned his back on Yevon and accepted the truth. "We will not flee! We will fight and continue our journey to defeat Sin!" Yuna proclaimed "You have been branded a traitor, but still you would fight Sin? Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage? Everything lost! What do you fight for?" Lord Kelk asked puzzled by their intentions. Yuna remained silent for a second and glanced at Cloud who nodded. She nodded back and said "I fight for Spira. The people long for the Calm. Defeating Sin, ending their pain and suffering... this I can do." The former maester looked down for a few seconds before turning his back and ordering the Ronso to stand down.

As they made their way up the mountain they were stopped almost immediately. The two idiots Biran and Yenke were waiting for them looking to cause trouble. "What do you two want?" Cloud asked and Biran began to speak "Summoner may pass. Guardians may pass. Kimahri not pass!" Yenke then said "Forget his people, forget his mountain. Little Ronso! Weakling Ronso!". Cloud was about to speak up until Kimahri beat him to it. "Then I must prove my strength!" he disclosed which seemed to surprise the two Ronso. "You think you will win? You not forget who took your horn?" Biran boasted and Yenke piled on with "Hornless! Hornless! Kimahri never beat brother Biran!" "This time, I win. I will win!" Kimahri declared. Cloud stopped Tidus from jumping in. "This is Kimahri's problem and he will handle it." Cloud told Tidus who didn't seem happy about the decision.

Kimahri showed great strength in his fight. Although he was half the size of Biran and Yenke he matched them for strength easily. It was obvious that his time traveling with Cloud and the others had greatly improved his skill as a warrior as he struck down the two Ronso. "Strong is Kimahri. Biran is Happy." Biran said as he knelt on the ground. He stood to face the mountain and clamoured "Sacred Mount Gagazet! I honour the name of strong warrior that defeats Biran! Remember always Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!"

Although Kimahri's victory was impressive Cloud didn't think it was necessary for the entire Ronso tribe to sing the Hymn of the Fayth to them. Despite this they continued their climb. The winds were brutal. It was like a thousand knives were being impaled into Cloud's skin, although he didn't complain. "I can't take this cold anymore!" Tidus complained "Ya me too! I think my fingers are about to freeze!" Wakka added. Cloud chuckled and said "Wimps. I've been in far worse than this." "Shut it Bubby!" Wakka said with a grin. "Yeah Cloud shut up!" Yuna said with a giggle as she threw a snowball at Cloud's face. A grin crept on his face as he wiped the snow off. Soon enough there was an all out war. Snow flew through the air and it was every man for himself. Everyone was laughing and this time it was genuine. Rikku and Yuna had ganged up on Cloud. They sent wave after wave of snowballs and Cloud barely dodged them. He took cover and Yuna closed in. She jumped on him and they rolled through the snow in each others arms. They were both laughing and having a good time. Cloud sat up and looked over at Tidus and Rikku who were in a similar position to him and Yuna. "Hey, check it out." Cloud said to Yuna while pointing at Tidus and Rikku who were kissing each other.

It looked like Tidus had finally made his move. Back in the Calm Lands Tidus had asked Cloud for some advice on girls. Cloud had told him to just be himself and when the time seemed right just go for it. It seemed that that time was now as they got up with their hands interlocked. Tidus made eye contact with Cloud and Cloud winked at Tidus in a teasing fashion which made Tidus give him a sarcastic face. Cloud chuckled to himself, he was happy for them both. "I told you they would end up together." Cloud said Yuna who shook her head and protested "I told you!". The two of them grinned and shared a kiss before carrying on their tedious climb up the mountain.

After defeating countless fiends they had almost made it to the top of the mountain. They made it to a bypass where Rikku stopped Cloud and Tidus. "What's this about? I hope I'm not interupting your lover time." Cloud taunted with a wink which was met by a punch in the arm from Rikku. "It's about Yuna. Zanarkand is just on the other side. Have either of you two thought of anything yet?" Rikku asked and they both shook their heads. Cloud didn't want them to worry so he said "Don't worry. It will all come together." they both nodded however their faces dropped as they pointed behind Cloud. As Cloud turned he saw the blue haired freak himself. Seymour.

"You dare show your face in front of me?" Cloud asked. Seymour just smirked and then he began to laugh. "Stand back." Cloud ordered Tidus and Rikku who protested. "We're fighting too!" Rikku exclaimed but when Cloud gave them the look they went silent and ran to get the others. "What is it you want Seymour?" Cloud asked and Seymour laughed "Spoken with confidence just like a true member of SOLDIER. Oh wait forgive me, you were never in SOLDIER." Cloud's eyes widened. He made a fist and drew the his fusion sword "How do you know about SOLDIER? Answer me!" Cloud demanded but Seymour just laughed. "You bastard!" Cloud shouted as he raised his sword "Save some for Kimahri" Cloud heard from behind him. Seymour raised his eyebrows and said "Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave. Yours was...a truly gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One...after another.". Kimahri's grip tightened and he roared with anger. "I have joined forces with Sephiroth to become a god and rule over all worlds! None of you will stop us!" Seymour bellowed and Cloud replied "Can't you see he's using you!" "No one uses Seymour Guado!". Cloud couldn't knock any sense into Seymour using words so he raised his sword and charged into battle. As he did Jenova ascended from behind Seymour from the edge of the cliff. "You fool! I will crush you all!" Seymour exclaimed as he merged with Jenova creating a new beast that had the combine powers of both Seymour and Jenova.

Cloud launched himself at the beast and swung his sword. Seymour's giant lance intercepted Cloud's attack and staggered Cloud backwards causing an opening for Seymour to strike him. He was sent flying backwards through the air and hit the rocky mountain wall. Cloud landed in the snow on his stomach. Blood dripped from his lip and stained the white snow red. The others had engaged battle with Seymour using all of their strength to keep him at bay. Cloud used his sword to help pull himself up to his feet. his vision began to clear up and his eyes were fixed on Yuna. She was holding up well and Cloud was impressed. At that moment Seymour hit her and sent her flying backwards. All of the guardians turned their attention to her and stopped fighting Seymour. Seymour was just laughing behind them and Cloud watched with anger. His eyes had began glowing brightly and flames had surrounded him from his aura of pure anger. Seymour had just made the biggest mistake of his life! Cloud focused on Seymour and lunged towards him. He blocked Seymour's feeble attempt to hit Cloud and struck Seymour. Cloud kept attacking Seymour again and again and again.

Seymour's body had completely dissolved and Cloud finally stopped swinging. Cloud walked over to Yuna's side and asked "Are you alright?". His question made her chuckle. She sat up and said "I'm fine don't worry." "How did you do that!?" Wakka exclaimed. Cloud shrugged "I've learnt to channel my anger and make it increase my strength rather than just aimlessly swinging my sword. Although you couldn't see it I thought about where I was swinging and when I needed to block Seymour's attacks." "The sign of a true warrior. Maybe it is possible." Auron muttered under his breath. Cloud turned to him "Huh?" "Let's keep moving." Auron said as he walked to the cave just past the by pass, to the entrance...to Zanarkand.


	11. Zanarkand

**Chapter 11 -** _ **Zanarkand**_

The air although already cold and sharp had mutated and some how managed to render Cloud's muscles useless. He was frozen in place but why?. Sinister laughter echoed. "Well done Cloud. You may still prove to be useful after all." Sephiroth taunted as he descended from the clouds. Cloud tried to respond in some way but it was no use. "Nothing to say? Ha ha ha of course you don't." Sephiroth chuckled. "Shut up!" Tidus shouted which seemed to catch Sephiroth's attention reminding him that the others were just behind Cloud. "Hm? Oh it's you. You're the son of Jecht correct?" Tidus was stunned and stuttered out "You, I, how do you-" "Ah yes I know all about Jecht. When Seymour becomes Sin your father will be released, you should be thanking me." Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face. All Cloud could manage was a grunt which only made Sephiroth laugh "What was that Cloud? Ha ha ha! Now watch as I kill all of your friends right before your eyes!"

Sephiroth raised his sword and went straight for Yuna luckily Kimahri was there to block the hit however Sephiroth was able to parry Kimahri's spear which left him wide open. This time it was Auron who stepped in and he managed to block the attack as well as giving the group some space between them and Sephiroth. All Cloud could do was watch as Sephiroth beat them to a pulp. They didn't stand a chance, Cloud had to help them but all he could hear was Sephiroth's voice echoing through his mind commanding him to stay still. Cloud could only hope that Zack and Aerith could get him out before something terrible happened. Tidus and Auron went in Hacking and slashing away trying to land a blow however Sephiroth was too good of a swordsman to let his guard down so easily. Just then Tidus tackled Auron out of the way as Lulu combined her magic with Wakka's ball. The fiery ball took Sephiroth by surprise and it made impact however this only angered Sephiroth which made him even more lethal.

"Cloud!" Aerith's voice shouted from inside his head "Zack is fighting Sephiroth off but he won't last much longer so finish it quickly!" "Don't worry I will." Cloud said. Just as he was about to run into battle Aerith stopped him "I have a message from Zack. He said to go kick his ass." Cloud smirked and replied "Tell him the same."

Cloud turned and drew the Buster Sword. He ran straight at Sephiroth and slashed his sword across his back. Sephiroth fell to his knee and Cloud flipped over him and in front of his friends. Sephiroth would not harm them anymore. "You should not be able to move!" Sephiroth seethed. Cloud didn't have time to talk so he just advanced. Attack after attack came in from Cloud but they were all blocked. He knew Sephiroth would crack eventually, that back slash had crippled him a lot. Cloud launched his blade at Sephiroth and the Buster Sword locked with Sephiroth's Masamune. At the time Cloud had more strength and he put that to good use, he used the weight of his sword to throw Sephiroth back giving him some space. Cloud raised his sword in the air and ran his hand across the Buster Sword. It came as a surprise to Cloud but Climhazard was successful. With that limit break Sephiroth was done. "You got lucky today Cloud. Just remember, you are my puppet and you will obey me!" Sephiroth bellowed as he disappeared in a sea of black feathers.

"There's no time to waste let's go." Auron said as he turned towards the bypass. "Hold on," Cloud said "Sephiroth said that when Seymour becomes Sin Jecht will be free. Does that mean?". Cloud didn't get an answer however Auron and Tidus were exchanging looks. "What do you know?" Cloud questioned. Tidus looked up at them all and muttered "Sin's...my old man." "You hit your head?" Wakka asked which Tidus disregarded. "Sin is my old man. My old man became Sin! I don't know how or why he did it. I felt him inside. And when I did, I knew it was true. My old man is Spira's suffering. Sorry.". Silence fell upon them until Cloud said "You know what we have to do." "I know. Let's get him! I think he would want that." Tidus replied which made Lulu ask in surprise "You would fight your own father?" "Yeah. No problem there. Now let's get moving!" Tidus exclaimed as he and Rikku exchanged a look before locking their hands together.

Cloud and Yuna were at the back of the group trailing behind. "How do you feel about Jecht?" Cloud asked her and she looked down. "It is my duty as a summoner to defeat Sin. I can't let anything prevent me from achieving this goal, but I do feel for Tidus. I could never imagine fighting my own father could you?" "I don't know. I never knew my father, he died when I was still young." Cloud never thought he would talk about his parents with anyone again but he found it easy to talk to Yuna about anything. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." She said but Cloud shook his head "Don't be.". They continued to walk in silence for a moment until Yuna asked "By the way, what was wrong with you when Sephiroth showed up? You just froze.". Cloud stopped walking. Yuna turned to face him and put her hands on her hips "Tell me!". Cloud smirked "I can't hide anything from you. I don't really know how to explain it but there's a piece of Sephiroth inside of me. I can hear his voice ringing in the back of my mind, he must've found a way to influence me again." "You mean like when he forced you to give him the black materia?" Yuna asked and Cloud nodded. "Don't worry, Zack and Aerith help me drown him out. And with your help there's no way he'll be able to get through again." Cloud assured Yuna who nodded in agreement.

The group had made it through the bypass and were met with a strange sight indeed. Bodies were sticking out of the wall and gave off a glow mist. "A summoning! Someone is using these fayth. Someone is drawing energy from all of them." Yuna explained. Cloud was drawn to it as was Tidus. It seemed like they were in a trance and they both raised their hands to touch the fayth. As soon as contact was made they both fell to the floor and passed out.

When Cloud woke up he was in a completely different place. Tidus was next to him and he blurted out "Zanarkand!?" which made Cloud look at him in confusion. "This is your Zanarkand?" Cloud asked and Tidus nodded. Something caught Cloud's eye. He saw something running into a building, no it was someone, a child. The two of them followed the child into some kind of house. There were tonnes of Blitzball trophies and awards all line on different shelves scattered around the place. "Do you remember me?" The child asked from the bottom of the stairs. Cloud nodded "You're the fayth of Bahamut right?" then Tidus added "Where are we?". The fayth seemed to be amused by Tidus' question and said "Silly. Don't recognise your own home?" so they really were in Zanarkand. "Are you all right!?" "Wake up! Please!" The voices of their friends were echoing around the room. "This is a dream?" Cloud asked and the fayth nodded "We don't have time to be dreaming!" Tidus exclaimed and the fayth just sighed and ran outside. They followed it and found themselves on a balcony. "Tidus you aren't dreaming, you are the dream."

The fayth explained to them that the summoners and all the remaining people of a war 1000 years ago between Zanarkand and Bevelle became fayth in order to keep Zanarkand alive. All of this before Cloud's eyes was a dream created by the fayth, the buildings, the sound of people, the night sky and even...Tidus. "We've been dreaming for so long...we're tired. Will you, will you help us rest? You and your father have been touched by Sin, you're more than just dreams now. Just a little more and maybe..." The fayth said but Cloud was still confused. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why did you bring me here as well?" he asked and the fayth looked away. "You were brought here with our help Cloud. When we can finally rest you'll..." "I'll what!?" "You'll go back to Geae." Cloud looked down. All he could think about was Yuna. Was he to be separated from another loved one? Was fated really this cruel? "There's more," The fayth continued "Zack and Aerith are also fayth, you know. When you defeat Sin they will also rest and you will no longer be able to contact them."

Zack and Aerith's spirits appeared in front of Cloud and he muttered "Did you know?" "We've always known." Aerith replied with a choke. "We wanted to tell you, but it was just...too hard." Zack said. Cloud's eyes were fixed on the floor. "Is there anyway we can get back after Sin is defeated?" Tidus asked and the reply from the fayth was "There is a chance, however it's not in our control." "Cloud please wake up!" "Tidus get up!" Yuna and Rikku were calling for them, they had to wake up. The scenery began to fade and everything turned white.

When Cloud awoke he saw the worried faces of his friends looking over him. He blinked slowly then sat up. "Are you all right?" Yuna asked him and Cloud nodded. Tidus had began to come to as well and the two of them exchanged looks. The group questioned them on what happened however they kept what they saw to themselves "It must have been the fayth. I guess when we touched them some sort of toxin was released, best not to dwell on it." Cloud said and the others looked at both of them unconvinced however Cloud pressed that they should keep going.

They entered the cave leading to Zanarkand only to be faced with the trials od Gagazet. It wasn't too difficult though, a few mediocre challenges later and the group were already on there way out of the cave. The hard part was the fiend waiting for them just outside the exit. "Be careful! There's something different about this one!" Cloud warned the others. He drew his Fusion sword and charged the four legged beast. Cloud attacked a few times before jumping back to see it's response. The creature raised it's tail and shot multiple lasers at the group. Cloud managed to block the attack, however the others weren't so lucky. They had become disoriented and were unable to fight properly. Echo drops, that's what they needed. Cloud searched through his supplies only managing to find one echo drop. Only one of his friends could be cured instantly so he had to make the right choice. Yuna had told him that she had been practising new spells so maybe she could find a way to heal them without echo drops. He made a split second decision and rolled out of the way of the fiends attack, using the echo drop on Yuna as he did. "You need to help them." Cloud told Yuna who protested. "You're not fighting alone!" she argued but Cloud shook his head and said "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Before Yuna could even reply Cloud turned and charged. A tail sweep came in but Cloud anticipated it and jumped over the tail. With the fiend turning back to Cloud an opening was created and Cloud seized the opportunity by slashing his sword across it's body. The fiend was still able to fight though and it slashed downwards attempting to knock Cloud over, however he was able to dodge it. Wakka's biltzball came flying in and caused the beast to stumble back. Wakka and Tidus then came to Cloud's side providing him with back up. "Save some for us bubby!" Wakka taunted and Cloud just smirked as he charged in again. He swung at it's head and locked his blade in between it's teeth. Cloud could only hope Tidus and Wakka knew what to do. Glancing behind him Cloud saw Tidus doing somersaults and heading straight for him and the fiend. He waited until the last possible second and pulled his blade away. Cloud rolled backwards to give Tidus a clear strike and it seemed as though that was the killing blow.

"Everyone ok?" Cloud asked and the general response was yes. Everyone stood up and began to walk until Rikku said "Hey, can't we rest for a while?" Auron dismissed the idea as they were almost at the summit. "That's why I want to stop for a bit. Soon means that...there's not much time left." Rikku said trailing off as she did. "Rikku..." Yuna replied "Fine. I'll think on the way."

As they walked up the path the old city of Zanarkand was revealed. Dozens of buildings stood there broken and forgotten just like the slums in Midgar or the rundown town of Corel. What a depressing place. "Yuna, I say no! If we go down there then you'll..." Rikku said once again trailing off. Yuna approached Rikku and put her hands on her shoulders "You're a true friend, and I thank you, but I must go..down, to Zanarkand" "Yunie.." Rikku sobbed and as Yuna went to hug her Cloud noticed she had dropped a sphere. "Thank you Rikku. Thank you for everything."

When the two separated the group continued on, however Cloud remained stood still, frozen. He was terrified. All these months he had been saying how Yuna wouldn't die and that he was going to save her, but the closer Zanarkand got closer the more he started to doubt himself. "You coming Cloud?" Tidus asked and he muttered under his breath "I'll catch up.". Tidus just nodded and ran back to the group. Cloud approached the sphere and picked it up. Could this be a message from Yuna? He hit play and watched as the video started.

"If you are all there watching this, then I guess Sin is already gone. And so am I, I suppose." Yuna's voice was broken and sad. The video showed the scenery of the Mi'ihen Highroad. Was this what she was up to when everyone was sat at the fire? Yuna continued to speak and said goodbye to everyone individually, recalling memories she shared with reach one of them. The video cut to Cloud who was sitting at the fire staring at the flames intensely. "I guess that leaves you, Cloud. The big scary man from Gaea," Yuna said giggling to herself. "Ever since I found you on the beach in Besaid I knew things were going to change. You always give me the courage I need to stand up for myself and for that I'm grateful. It's strange I didn't expect love to feel like this...I...um. Oh that's no good, I'll re-do that part." "Watchya up to?" Tidus' voice interrupted and then the video faded to black.

Cloud dropped the sphere on the floor. His eyes were burning and he was unable to move. He fell to his knees and punched the floor. How was he going to save her? The final aeon had the power to defeat Sin, there's no way Cloud could take it on. A tear rolled down his cheek and dripped on the floor. Even if he saved Yuna he would be sent back to Gaea, it was a lose lose situation. He couldn't let the others know how he was feeling, otherwise they would lose confidence as well so he manned up and stood up putting the sphere in a safe place as he did. He let out a sigh and continued up the path to catch up with the others.

When Cloud caught up they were all sitting around a campfire. Everyone was silent. Cloud looked down and then made a fist. He drew his Buster Sword and stuck it in the ground on top of a hill. He thought back to what Zack had said when he handed Cloud the Buster Sword. "This is my pride and dreams," Cloud said to the group "It's my living legacy and no matter what happens as long as this sword stands tall I will always be here." he continued. Yuna stood and then stuck on of her rods into the ground next to the Buster Sword "I hope I can be a part of that legacy." She said and Cloud kissed her on her forehead muttering the words "Of course." "Me too, ya!" Wakka exclaimed as he added one of his balls to the collection. Soon enough every single guardian got up and added one of their weapons to the Cloud's living legacy, no, to the groups living legacy. "Now where's my kiss bubby?" Wakka joked as he put his arm around Cloud which caused everyone to laugh. Even Auron cracked a smirk. Although it was short Cloud savoured every last moment of their time at the campfire. It was the last time they would probably laugh like that again all together.

Soon enough the sky had darkened and the stars had appeared. It was time to leave. No more breaks, no more jokes, it was time to get serious. This was their last mission. Cloud thought back to when he first started this journey. The group were so inexperienced in combat and now, now they were taking out strong fiends without even breaking a sweat. The road was broken and jagged. Parts of it were crooked and knocked out of place. This was no surprise to Cloud, after all this was the aftermath of a great war fought 1000 years ago. No matter what they were getting to that blitzball stadium at the end of the road, nothing was going to stop them.

As they approached the entrance they were met by an old and wise being. "Journeyer of the long road, name yourself." "I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the island of Besaid." "Your eyes, my dear. Show me the long road you have travelled. Very good. You have done well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now with your guardians."

As the group entered they saw two people having a conversation, a summoner and her guardian. "Use my life Lady Yocun and rid Spira of Sin." were the last words uttered by the guardian until she along with the summoner disappeared. Had they just witnessed a memory of a high summoner? "This dome is filled with pyreflies. It's like one gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here. Forever." Auron explained. Continuing on even more memories were shown by the pyreflies. It seemed like every guardian was offering themselves for something, but what? Eventually they came across a familiar spikey blue haired child. It was Seymour. "No! Mother, no! I don't want you to become a fayth!" He cried and Cloud almost felt sorry for him. "There is no other way! Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you." his mother said however Seymour continued to argue "I don't care about them! I need you mother! No one else!" "I don't...have much time left."

"Seymour?" Rikku questioned, however Cloud was more interested in what Seymour said. 'I don't want you to become a fayth'? What was he talking about? Another memory came to them. It was them. Braska Auron and Jecht. "Hey, Braska. You don't have to do this." Jecht said and the high summoner replied "Thank you for your concern." "Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you...die!" Auron protested. Braska simply smiled "Auron I am honoured that you care for me so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand, Auron.". They carried on moving and made it to the centre of the stadium. "Is Yunalesca through there?" Cloud asked and Auron shook his head "The trials await us behind this door."

To Cloud's surprise the Zanarkand trials weren't as bad as he thought they would be. It was as simple as matching the LED shapes on the floor the the ones on the screen, nothing too difficult. Once they had obtained all the spheres representing each different temple and placed them in the peddestles the centre of the room lit up. A great being with immense power raised from the hole in the centre. "That is the Spectral Keeper. Do not underestimate it." Auron warned the group. As soon as they stepped on the symbols surrounding the hole the room changed and they were floating in the air.

Cloud analysed the battlefield and knew the Keeper's strategy instantly. He moved onto a symbol that was right in fornt of the Keeper and waited. Just as Cloud thought, it was slow and had poor agility. "Everyone keep moving! As long as we can keep moving then it shouldn't be able to hit us!" Cloud advised however he still had no idea what this thing could take so that was his next move. He advanced and took a swing at the Keeper. The Fusion sword barely made any impact. "Auron!" Cloud shouted and he nodded. Auron already understood and used his armour break ability which weakened the Keeper's defence. "Alright everyone let him have it!" Cloud shouted to the group and they obeyed. They were slaughtering the Keeper while Cloud charged his limit. "Stand back!" was the order as Cloud moved his sword in a circular motion above his head. He jumped up in the air and performed meteorain which obliterated the Keeper into pyreflies.

As the Keeper was destroyed the room turned back to normal and an elevator appeared. "Yuna." Cloud muttered as she said "The hall of the final summoning." "Go." was the response from Auron. Something didn't feel right to Cloud and that feeling was confirmed by Yuna's cry "Sir Auron! Everyone!". They all got on the elevator and found Yuna looking over a fayth, however it looked as though it's power had vanished. "That statue lost it's power as a fayth long ago," It was that guy from the entrance again "It is Lord Zaon, the first fayth of the final summoning. Lord Zaon is...his soul is gone." he continued. "There's no final aeon?" Cloud questioned and the reply was "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The final aeon will be yours. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits."


	12. The Resolve

**Chapter 12 -** _ **The Resolve**_

Yuna lead the group through the translucent veil that Yunalesca was waiting behind. Cloud knew something wasn't right. If the statue of Lord Zaon didn't give Yuna the final aeon then how exactly was Yunalesca going to give it to her. He had been thinking about those memories of summoners and guardians, every time a guardian kept saying 'use me'. Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a soft voice. "Welcome to Zanarkand. I congratulate you, summoner. You have completed your pilgrimage." It was Yunalesca. She barely had anything to cover herself up and her long silver hair touched the floor. It wasn't anything like Sephiroth's, it was spread out and stuck up giving her a mysterious appearance. "I will now bestow you with that which you seek. The Final Summoning will be yours. Now, choose."

Choose? "What are you talking about?" Cloud asked. Yunalesca turned to Cloud and said "Your summoner must choose the one whom I will change to become the fayth of the final summoning." which was met with a gasp from everyone in the group. One of them had to become the final aeon, one of them had to defeat Sin, one of them had to...kill Yuna. "There must be a bond between chosen and summoner. The bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough it will conquer Sin. I will leave you to make your decision." Yunalesca explained as she left the room.

As soon as she left there was an up roar. Everyone was arguing over who would become the final aeon. Cloud just stayed quiet as they squabbled. Of course it had to be him, if he could defeat Sin and then allow the others to defeat him then Yuna would live. "I'll do it!" Tidus stated however Rikku shook her head and said "No I will! I'm apart of her family so it should be me!" "Don't be ridiculous, ya!" Wakka argued. Cloud couldn't take it anymore "Everyone shut up!" the room went silent and Cloud's voice echoed. "If one of us becomes the final aeon then Sin will only be destroyed temporarily. We need to find a way to fully break the cycle!" Cloud continued and Wakka replied "But there's always a chance it won't come back!". Cloud sighed and shook his head "Wake up! All that talk of pure atonement is bull shit! The best thing to do now is ask Yunalesca whether there is some way the cycle can be broken." it seemed as though Yuna was moved by his words and nodded in agreement "Let's go and ask her then."

They walked up the stairs to where Yunalesca was waiting and found her waiting at the end of the courtyard. The sky was black and the stars shone brightly. "Have you chosen the one to become your fayth?" Yunalesca asked and Yuna looked down. "Can I ask you something first? Will Sin come back even should i use the final aeon to defeat it?" she asked with little hope in her voice and the answer took that hope and crushed it into tiny little pieces. "Sin is eternal. Every aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in it's place and thus is Sin reborn. It is never-ending." "Never-ending? But...but...if we atone, Sin will stop coming back, ya?" Wakka asked halfheartedly. "Hope is comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it may be. The teachings of Yevon give the people of Spira hope. Without hope, they would drown in their sorrow." Yunalesca replied. Cloud hated what she had just said and couldn't hold himself back "You're wrong! Lying to all those people doesn't make their sorrow disappear! False hope, that is true sorrow." Yunalesca just sighed "Poor creature you would throw away hope...I'm surprised you of all people would do this,". Cloud's expression changed. Did she know what was going to happen to him if he permanently defeated Sin? "Well...I will free you before you drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope than live in despair."

"Now! This is it! This is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!" Auron shouted to get everyone motivated. "Yuna needs Kimahri. Kimahri protect Yuna." Kimahri joined in and Rikku followed suit with "Well, I'm fighting!". This time it was Waka who said "I can't believe we're gonna fight Lady Yunalesca! Gimme a break" "You can always run!" Lulu joked and Wakka replied "Hah! I'd never forgive myself - no way! Not if I ran away now! Even in death, ya!" "My thoughts exactly." she agreed. "This is our story! Now let's see this thing through together!" Tidus added. Cloud rested his fusion sword on his shoulder and said "Anyone may claim that they will act in the direst times, yet only a brave person acts in times great and small." Yuna giggled and replied "Poetic. You ready?" "Heh, what do you think?" he said as he charged into battle.

Yunalesca was faster than she lead on to be. Cloud slashed his sword left right up and down, yet she managed to dodge every single attack. He expected her to be a good spell-caster and as the first spell came in his expectations weren't disappointed. Yuna and Lulu had been silenced. No magic, no aeons, nothing. "Everyone keep her busy!" Cloud ordered as he ran to the girls' side. "You can't do a single spell?" Cloud asked them and they shook their heads. He wondered if materia was affected by this so he gave Lulu his lightning and ice materia and he gave Yuna his master summon materia. "Try using this." he said and it worked like a charm. Lulu caught Yunalesca off guard with the most advanced lightning spell and Yuna had summoned Odin to help them out.

When Cloud re-entered the fight it seemed as though the others had managed to defeat Yunalesca, however she had began to transform. This was Yunalesca's second form and Cloud was having flash backs to when he and AVALANCHE faced Sephiroth. "Watch out for the tenta-" Cloud couldn't finish his sentence as he needed to dodge an attack however when he turned back Wakka Auron and Kimahri had been trapped in her tentacles. "Yuna! Tell Odin to attack the tentacles! Tidus, give him some support! Everyone else we're taking Yunalesca head on!" Cloud shouted. It proved to be more difficult than Cloud anticipated to reach Yunalesca. With both the tentacles and the spells to defend against it became a real challenge to even get close. The tentacles moved at a high speed which made it almost impossible to dodge them, then it occured to Cloud. Perhaps the speed was it's greatest weakness. Rikku was the fastest person available so he said to her "Try and get the tentacles tangled up! Bob and weave!" "Leave it to me Big C!" she replied giving him the thumbs up as she did. As fast as lightning Rikku ducked, jumped and rolled to avoid the tentacles. She weaved in and out of them until they were unable to move. Cloud took the opportunity and lunged in. With one great swing of his sword Yunalesca flew backwards dropping Wakka Auron and Kimahri as she did.

Once again Yunalesca had transformed. This time the tentacles were on top of a massive head which made it look like Medusa. Beyond the head was like a snakes body and upon the body sat Yunalesca like it was a throne. Cloud had no idea how to go about tackling this form so he charged Yunalesca alone. Big mistake. The tentacles dug into the ground then reappeared surrounding Cloud in a circle. Attacks came in left and right and there wasn't a thing Cloud could do about them. They were just too fast for him however maybe this could give the others a chance to finish her off. Cloud saw them all attacking Yunalesca as fast as they could. He needed to hold on just a little bit longer, although his vision had started to blur. Suddenly a scream could be heard and Cloud was released from the death trap. He stumbled forward and saw Yunalesca in pain, he could finish this. Cloud ran straight at her dragging the tip of his sword along the ground as he did then jumped up high in the air and performed his Braver attack which appeared to finish her off.

Yunalesca crouched down on the floor and muttered "If I die, so does the final aeon. And with it, Spira's only hope." Cloud shook his head. "You're wrong." he stated but Yunalesca wasn't so convinced "Fool! There is no other way! Even if there was and you were able to destroy Sin...Yu Yevon, the immortal, would only create Sin anew. Ah...Zaon..forgive...me.". Pyreflies surrounded Yunalesca and soon enough she was gone, there was no turning back now.

"Now let's defeat Sin, once and for all!" Tidus exclaimed however the others weren't as confident. Yuna sighed and replied "But how?" "I don't know yet, but we'll think of something!" Tidus said. As the others walked back inside and Cloud looked behind him and muttered "Yu Yevon...?" before following the rest of them back to the entrance of the stadium.

Cloud saw everyone at the exit waiting for him. "What now?" Rikku asked, nobody had an answer. "Hey bubby how 'bout a recap, ya? Maybe that might help." Wakka said and Cloud puffed out his cheeks. "Alright I'll give it a try. It seems like Sephiroth and Seymour are working together, trying to become gods and bring destruction. The only way to do that is to gather enough of the planets energy. I think the pyreflies on Spira are the same as the lifestream on Gaea so in order for them to get such energy there would have to be a global catastrophe. When Sephiroth tried to do this before he used the black materia to summon meteor, now he's trying to use Sin." Cloud explained to everyone. "And Seymour wants to become Sin so he can bring about that catastrophe?" Lulu asked and Cloud nodded "Exactly. Right now our main focus is stopping those two from completing their mission." "But how are we supposed to find them? Where would they be?" Wakka asked. Cloud looked at them all, they were waiting for him to give a confident answer and it's a confident answer he was going to give them "Isn't it obvious? They are inside Sin.". Suddenly a noise could be heard outside. It sounded like...an engine? The party ran outside and saw the airship waiting for them to board.

"Well aren't we the happy looking bunch." Cid remarked sarcastically. No one made a sound. "Any good ideas?" Auron asked and once again no one spoke. Yuna looked around from her corner and couldn't see Cloud anywhere. Where was he? "What do we know...Sin is Jecht. Thus you have a link, that could be our key." Auron addressed Tidus who asked "What do we do then?" "We think, and we wait." was that response. As Auron walked past Yuna he gave her a look. He was telling her to talk to Cid after all he was her Uncle. She approached him and bowed however when Yuna raised her head Cid had turned away, not because he was angry, but because he was crying.

Cloud stood outside on deck with his arms folded looking out into the distance. Yu Yevon...that name was ringing through Cloud's mind. He was certain that it was the key. "The face you make when you're thinking hard is cute." a voice said coming from behind him. It was Yuna. Cloud smirked as she did an impression of his face. "I was just thinking about what Yunalesca said before she went to the Farplane. She said a name, Yu Yevon. I think it's important." Cloud told her and she replied "Then why don't we go to Bevelle and get some answers from Maester Mika? Kimahri just got the idea then, being a maester maybe he knows something that we don't."

When they walked into the cockpit Wakka exclaimed "Hey guys, I just had a great idea!" then Rikku ran in front of him shouting "It was my idea! Let me tell them!" "I'll tell them!" Tidus joined in. Wakka pushed him out of the way and said "It's like this, ya?" before being interrupted by Rikku who said "I just thought!" "The Hymn is the key." Lulu intervened and the three of them groaned. "What do you mean?" Cloud asked and Lulu explained that Jecht liked the hymn so when sung he would go straight to the source. Cloud nodded "Then when the time comes we know how to lure him in, but right now we're heading for Bevelle. Kimahri thought Mika might have some answers." "Awight! We're back in business, ya!" Wakka celebrated jumping in the air and punching the sky as he did.

Going back to Bevelle wasn't going to be a simple task. Being branded as 'traitors' it's not like they could just walk straight through the front door. With their big party not all of them would be able to go and talk to Mika, they would never get past without being seen. "Listen everyone. To Bevelle we are the enemy we can't just bust on in and talk to Mika, we have to be sneaky which is why some of us should stay on the airship." Cloud explained to everyone. Lulu stepped forward and asked "How do we decide who goes then?"

They discussed the situation for a while and the final party was Cloud, Yuna and Rikku. Back in Cloud's days with Shinra stealth missions were regularly practised which made him an obvious choice. Rikku was a born thief she was easily the sneakiest person on board, she might've even given Yuffie a run for her money - literally. Yuna wasn't exactly everyone's first choice to go but Cloud wanted to keep her close, he didn't want to risk her staying behind and something bad happening while he wasn't there. On the plus side she might be able to get something out of Mika.

After being dropped off just outside of Bevelle the three of them made their way to the palace making sure to keep a low profile. Surprisingly the streets were chaotic and full of violence. Was this because of the doubts in Yevon? Regardless, they kept moving. They were a few meters away from the entrance to the temple and Cloud spotted three guards waiting at the entrance. Perfect. "I've got a plan," Cloud told them "We're gonna sneak up behind a guard and then take their armour, that way we'll be able to blend in when we're inside." Yuna giggled and said "I guess you're used to dressing up aren't you?" obviously hinting at Cloud's cross dressing, which made Rikku chuckle. Cloud sighed and muttered "When we get back you two are dead."

It was easy enough for Cloud and Rikku to take down their guards but Cloud was worried about Yuna. To his surprise she was also able to take out her guard. Maybe Yuna had been hiding her fighting skill, she definitely showed potential. There was no time for compliments though. They quickly changed into the guards' gear and walked straight in. "Any ideas where Mika might be?" Rikku asked and Cloud nodded after thinking about it for a minute. "My guess would be the court room." he replied and soon enough they were on their way there.

As they walked up to the entrance Cloud noticed two guards. Mika must've been in there. Cloud knew exactly what to do, being an infantry man for two years he knew about guard duty. He walked straight up to them and said "Hey, we're on this post now you guys are at the entrance." "Really? We're normally here for another 30 minutes. Are you sure about that?" the guard on the right asked. They were good but Cloud had a good counter "Yeah. They just changed the rota because of all the chaos recently. The strongest guards are required to be at the entrance to prevent any protesters from getting in." he said which they seemed satisfied with. "Very well. Thank you for informing us." The one on the left said as they both marched to the entrance. "Idiots." Cloud muttered under his breath.

They entered the court room and found Mika at the edge of the balcony over looking the area where the accused stood. Cloud walked up to Mika and grabbed him by the collar lifting him up into the air as he did. "What is the meaning of this!?" Mika exclaimed. "Put him down." Yuna ordered and Cloud followed the order dropping Mika making him land on his backside. Cloud removed his helmet as did Yuna and Rikku. "You? Why are you not fighting Sin? You have the final aeon don't you?" Mika said frantically. Cloud grunted and said "No one will use the final aeon anymore. Yunalesca provided Spira with false hope so we took care of her." "You did what!? Do you realise what you have done!? Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all. I have no desire to watch Spira die." Mika whined. Cloud grabbed him by the collar again but this time he just put him on his feet then let go. "There's that name again. Yu Yevon, who is he?" Cloud asked, however he didn't get a reply. He didn't have time for this. Cloud drew his sword and shouted "Talk!" threatening Mika with his blade. Yuna ran up from behind him and put her hand on Cloud's shoulder "Please, Maester Mika. Tell us what you know. Who is Yu Yevon?" she said calmly with a persuasive tone. "He who crafts the souls of the dead into unholy armour. An armour called Sin! Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible. And the only thing that could've pierced that armour, you have destroyed! Nothing can stop it now..." Mika explained to them as he vanished into pyreflies. The coward.

Just then Cloud saw something. It was the fayth that had come to Cloud and Tidus back before Zanarkand. "Come to my chamber" it said and Yuna nodded. "Who are you nodding at Yunie?" Rikku asked which implied that only Cloud and Yuna could see it. "Rikku go back to the airship, tell them I might have a lead." "But I-" "Go." Cloud ordered and although she wanted to protest she did as he said. Cloud and Yuna went to the Chamber of the fayth just as the fayth had asked them to do. When they approached the statue of the fayth it appeared before them. "Hello." It said to them and Yuna thanked it for the aeon. "So, have you found a way to truly defeat Sin?" "I think I have and idea," Cloud answered "If we defeat Yu Yevon then he won't be able to recreate Sin, his armour." he continued. The fayth appeared to smile as it muttered "Yes..tell me, what else do you know about Yu Yevon." and Cloud shrugged. They didn't know a whole lot after that. "Yu Yevon was once a summoner, long ago. He was peerless. Yet now he lives for one purpose: only to summon. He is neither good, nor evil. He is awake, yet he dreams. Even if you defeat Sin with the final aeon, Yu Yevon will live. Yu Yevon will join with the final aeon, he will transform it into a new Sin." the fayth explained. "So that's how Seymour will become Sin. With Jenova inside of him he could technically be classed as an aeon, only a lot stronger." Cloud said and the fayth nodded before saying "Yu Yevon lives inside Sin. Yuna, listen. When you fight Yu Yevon, we will help you. Promise me you'll summon us. I'm afraid your swords and magic won't be enough, not even yours Cloud. Please call us, promise?" "I promise." Yuna replied. "But, you know...when it is all over..." the fayth continued and Cloud nodded "I know." "I'm sorry" "Don't be."

After that the fayth vanished and left Cloud and Yuna alone in the chamber. "Sorry for what?" Yuna asked Cloud who looked down. How could he possibly tell her that he would go back to Gaea when they defeated Yu Yevon? "Nothing, I just didn't want them to be sorry for wanting to sleep. Anyway let's get back to the airship." Cloud replied as he walked out of the chamber. Yuna watched as he left the chamber and muttered "You're a bad liar, you know."


	13. The Journey's End

Chapter 13 - The Journey's End

Cloud and Yuna had made it back to the airship and for once they were greeted with good news. Rikku had told everyone in Bevelle to sing the hymn of the fayth when they hear it playing from a ship in the sky and to spread the word all across Spira. "So you think this will draw Jecht towards us?" Cloud asked them all and Tidus replied "Yeah, I saw him listening to it when we were underneath Macalania temple." Cloud took his word for it after all Jecht was his father. Silence fell upon the airship. You could feel the tension in the air. With one simple action they had the power to call Sin, but were they ready for it? Could they defeat the undefeatable Sin? Everyone looked to Cloud, waiting for his command. He nodded once and said "Alright, let's finish this. Let's make the dream of a Sinless world come true and make the lives of those we love be free of pain and suffering. Let's do the impossible. Let's defeat Sin!"

Everyone cheered and were inspired by Cloud's mesmerising words. The airship was fully of life and the group were bouncing up and down with eagerness. Cloud himself was also pumped up, however in the back of his mind there was still that feeling of sadness. When this was all over, Cloud would be sent back to Gaea. He would have to say goodbye to everyone forever, he would never see them again, he would never see Yuna again. "Everything ok?" Yuna asked him and Cloud blinked. A minute must've gone by before he stopped staring at her and actually said something "I'm fine," Cloud paused. He had to tell Yuna the truth he continued to speak "I just-" "Hey, you two! We're about to start the hymn!" Rikku interrupted preventing Cloud from telling Yuna what would happen if they defeated Sin.

"Alright, here we go," Cid said as he started playing the hymn of the fayth through the speakers of the airship. "How's that?" he asked and Rikku gave him the thumbs up. A few minutes went by and everyone stood in silence as the hymn went on. The silence was then broken by a cry from one of the crew members "Sin!". This was their chance, their only chance. "Let's go! We enter through the mouth!" Cloud ordered as everyone ran up to the deck. Cloud started running before he was stopped by Cid "What if you can't get through the mouth?" Cloud smirked "Then we'll make a new blow hole for that flying whale, you get me?". Cid was laughing hysterically and said with enthusiasm "Now that's what I call a plan! Go make us proud kid!"

When Cloud walked out on deck the hymn of the fayth echoed all around the sky. The soothing melody swam through the air travelling in the sharp wind. Cloud didn't understand. They had been branded as traitors of Yevon. Why were they helping them? Was this Spira's unification? The last time Cloud felt this feeling was when meteor was about to hit Gaea. No one cared who anyone was, what they had done and no one cared about personal feuds. Cloud could tell that this was Spira's final stand. They were sick and tired or Sin harassing them: they wanted this to end. Suddenly the airship began to shake and the familiar figure of a certain flying whale could be seen through the clouds. "This is it everyone. No turning back now." Cloud stated as he drew his completed fusion sword. Slowly the hymn disappeared. The people knew the decisive battle was about to begin and Cloud could feel their fear, their anger, their pain, their hope. With Spira united with them there was no way they could lose.

A creaking noise came from Sin and the planet shook. Eight bursts of energy were released from Sin and went in a line of destruction and chaos, tearing up everything insight. Explosions followed the energy and knocked everyone to the floor. "Shit." Cloud muttered under his breath. It became pretty clear that they weren't entering through the mouth which meant they had to find a way to weaken Sin then rip open a new way in. "Hey I saw somethin' shine a the base of Sin's arm! I reckon it's a weak spot!" Cid's voice boomed from the speakers of the airship which was followed by a hectic conversation in Al Bhed which Rikku translated. "Sin's pulling us in!" she cried there were commands telling them to come back inside however that wasn't an option. They were already tangled in Sin's web and Cloud wasn't about to back down from the challenge. "We stay and fight! Move in closer Cid!" he yelled which was met with the airship moving in on the weak spot.

"Give everything you've got! Hold nothing back!" Cloud ordered as he jumped onto Sin's arm. Cloud took a few swipes at the weak spot however after a few hits an energy blast was sent out which Cloud barely dodged. This was going to be a problem. Although it had this powerful attack it didn't use it very often Cloud found. Perhaps the attack depended on the energy used to attack it, almost like some sort of limit break. While an attack like this had it's advantages there are also disadvantages and exploits. Cloud jumped down to the rest of the group and pulled Yuna to one side. "Do you know the reflect spell?" Cloud asked her and she nodded quickly "It will take some time to set up though." "Just let me know when it's ready.". Just before Yuna began making the preparations Cloud pulled her close and kissed her before jumping back into the action. Yuna's face was red and she was smiling. She shook her head and snapped out of her trance starting to cast reflect. Cloud had told everyone to attack at the same time when Yuna gave the signal but in the mean time he focused on weakening Sin as much as possible by holding back on his attacks a bit so it didn't gain enough energy to send it's response. "Cloud!" Yuna shouted and with the signal being given Cloud kicked off of Sin slashing the weak spot with all his might as he did. The others also launched their attacks which caused Sin to build up enough energy to strike back, however as it did Yuna's reflect spell sent the attack right back at it making it even more powerful as it kept going back and forth until Sin's arm finally exploded.

"Let's take down that second arm." Cloud motivated everyone and the airship swung around to the other side of Sin where the second arm was waiting to be destroyed. Right off the bat Cloud lunged in and tested whether it had the same attack pattern however he was unable to reach a conclusion. Every single one of his strikes bounced right off of the surface. It was protected this time. "We're gonna have to use the main gun to tear this arm off but we have to weaken it first. Magic users I want you to do everything you can to give us physical hitters more power to take out Sin's armour. I also want you to give Sin as many debuffs as you can that way the main gun will be able to do it's job. Everyone else we're holding Sin at bay, preserve your energy and wait until we can break his armour to go all out." Cloud said with confidence, he was sure that once the armour was broken the main gun would be able to blow that arm off with ease. It was him, Auron and Kimahri holding Sin while the others were casting as many buffs and debuffs as possible. All they needed to do was draw the attention away from the casters so Sin would focus on getting rid of them instead of getting rid of the debuffs on itself. The three of them went to work swiping and slashing their weapons across Sin's armoured weak spot. "Guys! It's ready!" Tidus shouted as he and Wakka joined them. Cloud nodded and they all jumped in the air slashing Sin's weak spot all at the same time. "Now!" Cloud yelled and as the five of them landed the main gun was fired sending Sin's arm flying in a blaze of glory.

After the smoke had cleared there was some more squabbling in Al Bhed could be heard and Rikku told them that the main gun was busted. "Dang it! All right, everyone back inside! Time for a new plan!" Cid's voice boomed and Cloud wasn't happy with this. He shook his head "This is the final stand nothing is gonna stop us now! It's all or nothing!" he encouraged as he ran towards the edge of the deck signalling everyone to follow him. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" Yuna teased as she pushed Cloud out of the way which made him grin. Cloud jumped over the side and passed Yuna on the way down giving her a teasing wink as he landed on Sin's back first.

Straight away Cloud could see that the weak spot was only guarded by some sort of sinspawn meaning once they defeated that the weak spot was easy pickings. Tentacles came flying at Cloud who was able to slide underneath them and strike the sinspawn as he got up. Despite this advantage the sinspawn came straight at him again causing him to roll backwards to dodge the attack. Wave after wave of tentacles came in and all Cloud could do was block them until an opening appeared. As a tentacle was about to strike him Kimahri's spear came from out of no where and destroyed it before it could even scratch Cloud. With that Cloud fought back and used his own fusion sword as well as Kimahri's spear. Two diagonal swings later and the sinspawn was on the back foot as everyone piled on. Cloud threw Kimahri his spear and gave him a nod of appreciation as the two joined their friends in battle. They were in the zone, nothing could stop them and just as Wakka was about to get the killing blow Lulu came in and stole it from him. That's what Cloud loved about this group, there was competition and a little but of banter here and there. Everyone glanced at each other as they raced towards the weak spot trying to get that final blow. Cloud smirked as he lunged towards the spot and once again just as Wakka was about to finish it off Cloud sliced it to pieces. "Oh come on! Dat's twice now!" Wakka complained which made Cloud smirk.

The airship was just below Sin and the all jumped on it as Sin fell to the ground. As Sin crashed to the ground Cloud heard a horrific noise. "Argh!" he screamed as he fell to his knees "What's wrong!?" everyone gasped and panicked. Cloud's knuckles were white because of the grip he had on his head "You can't hear it?" he asked painfully and the others just looked among themselves "The planet. It's screaming. Sephiroth must be doing something." Cloud continued. Yuna knelt down and put her hand on his face "Don't worry. We'll stop him. We'll stop them all." she told him. Her voice soothed Cloud and he nodded. Once he was on his feet they all headed back inside.

"That was awesome!" Tidus shouted as they all walked into the cockpit. Everyone was ecstatic however Cloud had to make them all concentrate "The battle isn't over yet. We still have a long way to go." he stated "But it has weakened, I'm sure of it." Lulu replied which made Rikku jump up in joy exclaiming "Yeah! We're winning!". Cid had left the cockpit in order to try and fix the main gun, although Cloud wasn't sure whether they would be able to fix it. Cloud tensed up again and grasped his head. The planet was in pain. It was screaming for help. How could no one else hear it? He made his way to a window and lent against the wall. What could Sephiroth be doing in there?

"Hey guys! Look! Something's happening to Sin!" Rikku pointed out. Cloud glanced out of the window and saw that Sin had grown some sort of wings on it's back. It rised up and hovered in the air waiting for them to strike. "It's time. All right everyone, let's move out." Cloud said as he made his way to the deck once again.

Sin was just ahead. Everyone was ready. "Huh?" Cloud looked more closely at Sin and noticed something, something that shouldn't have been there. "Damn!" he shouted and everyone looked at him nervously. "It hasn't been weakened, it's gotten stronger." Cloud explained which was met with a protest from Lulu "How could you possibly know that? There's no way it could've gotten stronger!" "Under normal conditions you would be right, but look closely. It's merged with Jenova. Don't let up, give it everything you've got!"

As Jenova Sin moved in on them Cloud lunged for it. Once again the thing was armoured so he looked to Auron and Kimahri to help him out. They all jumped at the same time and slashing Jenova Sin across the armour which exposed Jenova. If they could defeat her then Sin would crumble, allowing them to enter. Lasers were shot from Jenova's eyes which caused everyone to dodge and roll. Cloud Tidus and Wakka managed to stay on their feet however the others weren't as lucky. "It's up to us now! Our target is Jenova!" Cloud asserted and the two of them nodded. Wakka started to spin around and as he did he threw his ball which kept on coming back to him so he could throw it again. It almost seemed like he had an infinite supply of balls he was throwing it that fast. This time it was Tidus's turn. He ran straight at Jenova then kicked off of her into the sky. As he went up he raised his sword above his head which began to glow blue and once it was glowing bright enough he swung his sword downwards which shot out energy that exploded on Jenova upon impact. One more hit. Cloud raised his fusion sword above his head and swung it around before jumping in the air and swinging it which sent multiple meteors at Jenova causing her to vanish in a sea of green streams. Sin wollowed in pain which gave the airship the chance to get inside.

When they landed and walked outside they were met with a sea of sorrow. Mist as far as the eye could see, however there was a path lit up that they were supposed to follow. "Be careful. We don't know what's in that mist so don't let your guard down." Cloud warned everyone as they entered the mist.

Just as Cloud expected, the fiends in here were ridiculously strong. They were much stronger than anything they had come across on their journey. Despite this they muscled their way through. After taking on Sin three times and giving Jenova a beating although these fiends were tough they wouldn't put them down.

While they were walking Yuna hurried to Cloud's side and took his hand. He looked down at her and couldn't resist smiling "Something you wanted to talk about?" he asked curiously which was met with a nod. "Are you alright?" was Yuna's question which puzzled Cloud and after seeing this confused expression Yuna elaborated "I mean, you've been working so hard. I just wanted to know if you're feeling alright about the upcoming battles.". Cloud paused and blinked "I guess I'm feeling ok. I do have one thing on my mind though..." "What is it?" Yuna asked eager to attend to him. Cloud smiled at her concern and replied "When the time comes, I want to face Sephiroth alone." which Yuna didn't like at all. "I don't think you should! We should help you! We need to help you! You think we're just going to watch while Sephiroth tries to kill you? Not a chance!" she insisted but Cloud couldn't allow it "This is something I have to do alone. I don't know how to explain it, but it's something I feel like I have to do, something I have to do to get Sephiroth out of my mind once and for all." "But what if he controls you again? You remember what happened the last time we saw him, he practically rendered you useless!" she protested. Cloud had to admit she raised a good point but he was sure that if he had Yuna by his side nothing would be able to stop him "As long as you're with me he won't get anywhere near my mind, I promise you that I will defeat him and I will come back alive."

It seemed as though they had reached the end of the path as they approached a set of stairs leading up to some sort of court yard. As Cloud ascended he saw the first of the four enemies they would have to face. That lightning shaped blue hair was unmissable. "Seymour." Cloud muttered under his breath which was met only by laughter from the blue haired mad man. "Sin has chosen me. I am part of Sin, I am forever one with it! Immortal!" Seymour exclaimed which didn't impress anyone. "Look Sephiroth is just using you Seymour, can't you see that?" Cloud said which was again met with laughter "Sephiroth using me? Perhaps it is the other way around. Maybe I am using him." "You're an idiot. He'll cut you down in two seconds." Cloud replied. Seymour chuckled and said "He could strike me down easy enough right now yes, but once I learn to control Sin he won't be able to even lay a finger on me!" as he spoke he began to morph into a new being "Since you were gracious enough to dispose of Yunalesca the only means of destroying Sin is forever gone! Now nothing can stop us!" he bellowed. Cloud drew his fusion sword and shouted "You're wrong! We'll stop you right here, right now!" "By all means, try! You should thank me! When you die you will be reunited with that brute soldier and the pathetic flower girl!"

Cloud's eyes burned with rage and flames were in his eyes. Nobody spoke about his closest friends like that! "Argh!" Cloud screamed as he charged straight in slashing and hacking away. Seymour took the hits well and managed to create some space between the two of them which allowed him to cast multiple fire spells at the entire group. Cloud ran across the courtyard with fireballs exploding closely behind him. Fortunately Seymour's attention turned away from Cloud due to Yuna summoning Bahamut. Seymour laughed "I am far stronger than any of these pitiful aeons." and with the flick of his wrist Bahamut was dismissed. While this seemed like a disadvantage it was actually a brilliant decoy and Auron and Kimahri were able to launch a joint attack from both sides which staggered Seymour. Wakka was able to get a few hits in with his ball and Lulu was able to get a few spells in during this period while he was staggered. Although this move was executed greatly Seymour bounced back and launched a wave of ice spells at everyone. Tidus , Rikku and Cloud were all able to quickly dodge these spells and get close to Seymour where they unleashed a series of attacks. The three of them jumped back down where they were able to regroup. This time Seymour sent a powerful lightning spell straight at Cloud who was able to counter it with his own powerful lightning spell, however due to the force of the impact the materia cracked and shattered to pieces. After that Cloud knew he would be losing a lot of materia during this fight. Seymour wasn't letting up as he sent another wave of fire spells towards them. Cloud didn't have a choice but to counter them with his ice materia which inevitably shattered just like the other one. Fortunately the collision between the ice and fire spells created an opening for Cloud. He lunged straight at Seymour and let out a flurry of attacks. Attack after attack came in and suddenly Seymour began to glow red. After seeing this Cloud kicked off of him and landed in front of the group. "Hahaha! You fool! You let your anger cloud your judgement!" Seymour taunted but the worst part was that he was right. Cloud's eyes widened. How could he have been so careless? "We were playing his game this whole time. With every hit he was able to charge something up!" Cloud realised which made Seymour fall into laughter "You will all meet your end!". Seymour began his ultimate attack and casted one of the most powerful spells across all of Spira and Gaea, Ultima. The spell was launched straight at the group and exploded upon impact creating clouds of smoke.

When the smoke cleared Seymour gasped and growled in anger. Everyone was still standing unharmed. "What!? Impossible!" he blared and upon further inspection there was an aeon, no not an aeon, a summon! "Heh. You may have control over the aeons but you don't have control over my summons!" Cloud explained, he had summoned phoenix who protected them from the spell by absorbing the energy of the explosion. However this came at a price as Cloud's master summon materia shattered like the others. That was it. All his materia was gone. "I think it's about time we ended this." Cloud said as flames were formed in a circle around him. He ran at Seymour and then spiralled upwards slashing his sword across Seymour's body after every spin. On the final spin he put all his remaining strength into the last swing which caused Seymour to have a seizure. His body shook and morphed back into his normal form. Cloud landed in front of him and said "You're finished. Send him, Yuna."

Finally. Seymour had been sent to the farplane where his spirit would remain. Continuing down the path the group were brought to some sort of city. As Cloud walked through the city he could hear the voices of Zack and Aerith. "There's something we need to tell you." Zack said and Aerith continued for him "When the time comes, we won't be able to stop Sephiroth from entering your mind. He is in a place that makes us useless.". Cloud looked down "Don't worry, I won't let him in."

After facing many fiends the group turned a corner to find a huge cylindrical structure with a glowing symbol on it. Cloud knew this was it. He approached the symbol and reached out his hand touching the symbol as he did. The symbol flashed and they were transported to a strange place. Everything was crystallised and the sky was green with streams. "Hahaha."

"So my puppet has come to rebel has it? Wake up!"

Cloud tensed up and held his head. His pupils narrowed and his mako eyes began to glow even brighter. Yuna ran in front of Cloud and made him look into her eyes "Look at me! You don't have to do what he says! You are your own person with your own thoughts! Shut him out!" "Argh!" Cloud's eyes returned to normal and he shook his head. "So you resist my command? No matter. I will just have to destroy you myself." Sephiroth said as he descended from the sky. "Sephiroth. This is my battle, and I'm fighting it alone." Cloud said which made Sephiroth smirk "As you wish." and with the wave of his wrist everyone else was trapped inside of a protective barrier unable to interfere with the battle. "Tell me Cloud, why is it you continue to fight knowing full well what will happen?" Sephiroth questioned which made Yuna ask "Why what's going to happen?" "Oh. You haven't told them yet. Hahaha." Cloud couldn't take it any longer "Shut up!" he yelled as he lunged in.

Their blades clashed for the first time and Cloud took the upper hand by reversing the attack sending Sephiroth flying into a wall. Cloud took pursuit and once again they clashed. The two were equally matched and with every attack came a block or a dodge. It was almost as if they were one in the same. Cloud went to sweep Sephiroth off of his feet with his sword however Sephiroth simply stepped backwards which gave him an opening to strike. Luckily for Cloud his fusion sword gave him enough momentum to spin around enabling him to block the incoming strike. Sephiroth pushed against Cloud's sword which made Cloud roll backwards and dash away to catch his breath and come up with a tactic. He had noticed how aggressive Sephiroth was being in his fighting so maybe he could use that against him. There was no time to think of anything else as Sephiroth came speeding towards Cloud with that insanely long sword. Quickly Cloud blocked his attack and made a retreat to some buildings that were close by. The two of them were jumping off the walls clashing their blades as they did neither one of them being able to land a single blow. They came together in the middle of a room and locked blades. "After I'm done with you the girl is next!" Sephiroth provoked which rather than made Cloud lose focus gave him extra strength which allowed him to send Sephiroth flying through the walls of the building. He jumped through the hole Sephiroth's body had created and was met with a piece of a building hurdling towards him. Just barely Cloud was able to jump out of the way and stick his sword in the side of the building where he was able to stand on it. Sephiroth saw this as an opportunity though as he literally cut through a building sending falling debris in Cloud's direction. Cloud removed his sword from the building and launched himself towards the debris. Showing great strength and coordination Cloud managed to cut through the falling pieces without getting hurt. Sephiroth met him in the middle though swinging left and right. They both stood on separate pieces that were falling one above and one below. Cloud took out the front sword of his fusion sword and went to town. He let out a volley of strikes left right left right left right. Each attack was blocked and countered by Sephiroth and equally the countered attacks were blocked by Cloud. Knowing they were nearing the ground Cloud broke off and jumped back to where the group was waiting. He feel to one knee regaining his breath. However Sephiroth was right on his tail and Cloud lazily swung at him which allowed Sephiroth to punch Cloud in the face and take a swing at him. Fortunately Cloud was able to stop the swing from piercing his body however the strike sent him flying backwards into the barrier protecting his friends. He was able to get up and red flames appeared around him. Cloud ran straight at Sephiroth and performed Omnislash. Sephiroth must've anticipated this as every single attack was blocked and dodged. Just as Cloud was about to deliver the final blow Sephiroth stabbed him mid air. "Cloud!" he heard from behind him however he couldn't tell who said it. Sephiroth grew a black wing on his right shoulder and threw Cloud in the air. Cloud was completely defenceless and Sephiroth was able to stab him multiple times through the stomach, the arm, the leg, the foot and after one final strike Cloud was sent back down to the ground. Blood poured out. Soon enough there was a massive pool of blood around him and he could hear screams coming from his friends. "Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it all away." Sephiroth taunted as he dashed in preparing to strike Cloud down once and for all. Cloud's pupils widened and everything turned white.

"I couldn't just stand by while my best friend was about to get killed."

"So what if it seems hopeless? If it was me I still wouldn't give up."

"Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens protect your honour as SOLDIER. Well ok, you never made SOLDIER, but it's what's in here that counts."

"Cloud, you know what I told you." "That's right. I am your living legacy!"

Cloud stood up and he was brought back to reality where he parried Sephiroths strike. "I pity you, you just don't get it at all!" Cloud responded as they clashed once again. Cloud managed to send Sephiroth retreating into the air and when he jumped up to meet him he shouted "There's not a thing I don't cherish!" winging his sword around his head as he did. His sword began to glow blue and when they locked blades Cloud's sword split into the individual pieces which surrounded Sephiroth leaving him in a stunned state. Cloud flew around him and launched a series of attacks at lightning speed from an unpredictable direction. Every single attack hit and as Cloud prepared his final attack he launched himself from above Sephiroth and cut straight through him. As he landed his swords stuck into the ground in a circle around him and the main blade fell straight into his hand. "It's over Sephiroth. Go back to sleep." Cloud said as Sephiroth dissipated into red streams.

As the barriers disappeared Cloud fell to his knees. "Cloud!" everyone shouted as they rushed over to his side. Quickly Yuna used her most powerful cure spell which stopped the bleeding however Cloud had already passed out. Yuna was in tears she couldn't even speak "Is he, Lulu, is, Wakka, I, please." she staggered out. A white figure then appeared before them and said "Do not worry. Cloud is fine. He will regain consciousness soon, but in the meantime you should all go on ahead to face Jecht." "But I-" Yuna was cut off by the figure who simply waved it's hand which transported them all to where Jecht was waiting.

Anxiously Tidus walked down the path. There he was. His father, Jecht, was right their with his back facing them. As they approached he said "You're late Auron." and Auron simply replied "I know.". Jecht turned around and looked directly at Tidus. "Hey" he said however Tidus was too stunned to even reply. There was a moment of silence until Jecht said "Hah! You got tall, but you're all bones! You eating right boy?" once again Tidus couldn't reply so Jecht just carried on talking "Well, then... I mean... you know. Let's end this." "Dad?" Tidus muttered "I hate you.". It was obvious that this wasn't true. The emotion and sadness in his voice gave it all away. "When this all starts, I won't be myself anymore. I won't be able to hold myself back." Jecht told Tidus who replied "That's enough! Let's finish this, ok?" "Well, then... Let's go!" Jecht shouted as a bright light appeared around him. Tidus ran to him shouting "Noooo!" but it was too late Jecht's transformation was already under way and the final battle was about to begin.

When the group had vanished the figure knelt beside Cloud and put it's hand on his forehead. Cloud's eyes opened slowly and he blinked. He felt a surge of energy, his fire had been rekindled and he was ready to take on Jecht and Yu Yevon. "I'll take you to your friends. Let's go, Cloud." the soothing voice of the figure said which Cloud knew as Aerith's voice. Cloud nodded and stood up. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again he saw pure chaos.

The group was all over the place. Braska's final aeon, Jecht, was huge. He held a giant sword and possessed powers that reminded Cloud of Sephiroth's first form in the Northern Cave. Cloud's instincts took over as Jecht swung his huge sword straight at Yuna. In a flash Cloud lunged in front of her and raised his fusion sword to block the attack. With all of his might he pushed against the sword and hit it away. "Miss me?" Cloud asked as Yuna hugged him tightly.

Cloud had noticed two pillars next to Jecht which healed him, they had to be taken out. "Long range hitters take out those pillars! Everyone else stay sharp and take on Jecht!" Cloud ordered before lunging straight at Jecht. He didn't expect him to be so fast. Every single one of Cloud's attacks were blocked and with that giant sword of Jechts it made it hard to launch another attack. The others were making attempts as well however with the massive area the sword covered Jecht could block pretty much every single attack. "Bubby the pillars out down!" Wakka shouted which meant it was time for them to go all in on Jecht. Without anything healing him he would lose stamina very quickly meaning moving that sword around would cost him a lot. Knowing about his vulnerability Jecht unleashed an attack that had the purpose of weakening Cloud and the others so the effects of his low stamina wouldn't have as big of an impact. Somehow he was able to call a meteor which he was able to catch and throw directly at the group which caused multiple explosions and injured the majority of the group. Cloud made eye contact with Yuna and she immediately knew what to do. She summoned Bahamut to temporarily take on Jechct while they regrouped and healed from the last attack. Yuna did her best to heal everyone and Wakka said "Anyone got any ideas?" "I've got one, but it's not gonna be easy to pull off. If you can all create an opening around Jechts chest I can try and finish him off that way." Cloud said which everybody seemed to agree on. Everyone got into position and Yuna dismissed Bahamut. They were split evenly on both sides of Jecht and launched a volley of attacks on him. Cloud knew what Jecht would do. He would use his size and power to push the two groups away which would play right into their hands. Exactly as Cloud said Jecht pushed the two groups away and he lunged straight at him. He plunged his sword straight into Jecht's chest and slid downwards creating a rip inside Jecht.

Jecht dropped his sword. His body shook and he transformed into his normal self. Yu Yevon was circling them just above. Tidus ran to his side and Jecht said "You're gonna cry. You always cry. See? You're crying." and the two had a moment of silence together. "You know...for the first time, I'm glad...to have you as my father." Tidus sobbed and Yuna walked forward saying "Sir Jecht-" before being cut off by Jecht. "No, Yuna, there's no time! You know what to do! The aeons...call them!"

"Here it comes!" Lulu exclaimed as Yu Yevon collided with Jechts sword sending them to an unknown location. There was nothing there, nothing apart from Jechts sword which the group stood upon and the golden white glow of the void. Everyone stood up and Cloud shouted "Yuna! Do it!"

First up was Valefor. Yu Yevon came down and possessed the aeon turning it against them. Tidus and Rikku were the ones to handle this as they ran in. They both dodged Valefor's energy blast and Rikku threw a smoke grenade at her which stunned her allowing Tidus to nip in and slash the aeon with his sword providing the finishing blow.

Ifrit was next. Wakka and Lulu ran in and instantly knew what to do. Ifrit launched his Hellfire attack however Lulu combined her magic with Wakka's ball turning it into an ice ball. Wakka threw it at the incoming meteor and rendered it useless. With that Lulu shot and ice spell at Ifrit as well as Wakka throwing his ball at him defeating Ifrit.

It was Ixion's turn. He was going to be dealt with by Kimahri who charged straight in. Ixion tried to black him with lightning however his lightning spear simply absorbed the energy. Ixion then went in with his horn which Kimahri slid under and then broke it off using the full extent of his power. Kimahri then used his momentum to spin again and slice Ixion in half.

Shiva was to be faced by the combination of Auron and Yuna. While Shiva had high evasion her defence was relatively low compared to Auron's strength so Yuna, being skilled in white magic, used a speed spell on Auron giving him greater speed which allowed him to dodge the ice spells sent his way and strike Shiva down. At equal speeds Shiva never really stood a chance against the legendary guardian.

All that remained of the aeons was Bahamut and all that remained of the group was Cloud. Bahamut came in strong and hard casting powerful spells and backing them up with physical attacks afterwards, however Cloud dealt with them simply enough. He dodged all of the spells and blocked the physical attacks until an opening was created. Cloud took the chance and let out a flurry of attacks. First came from the right then from the left and then he spiralled upwards kicking and slashing Bahamut as he did. When he landed he took pursuit again attacking low then spinning around and slashing him across the throat.

All of the aeons had been defeated and Yu Yevon floated back up into the air trying to think of something to do. Before they could do anything Tidus spoke up "Everyone. This is the last time we fight together, ok?" "Huh?" Wakka said. Tidus just sighed and said "What I'm trying to say is...after we beat Yu Yevon, I'll disappear!" "What!? No! Please!" Rikku sobbed as she grasped Tidus tightly. As Tidus tried to calm her down Cloud wondered whether he should tell everyone that he would also be gone. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. "Let's finish this." Cloud said as Yu Yevon took on a physical form.

Nothing could even touch them. Lulu used a powerful lightning spell to stun Yu Yevon which allowed Wakka to use his ball to damage him. Rikku followed up with a smoke bomb allowing Tidus Kimahri and Auron to strike Yu Yevon. During this Yuna was casting spells on Cloud which made him stronger. He could feel the power surging through him and from his run up to his jump he knew the strike would end everything. It would end the suffering of the people, it would end the journey, it would end his mission, it would end his time here on Spira. "Argh!" Cloud bellowed as he brought his sword down upon Yu Yevon which made him vanquish in a sea of pyreflies. Everything turned white and they were transported back to the airship.

There was only one thing left to do. Perform the sending. As Yuna did her dance pyreflies gathered around them. Auron was the first to go. Yuna looked at him with sad eyes however he just said "Don't stop." and walked down the isle of people. Along the way he patted Kimahri on the chest and clasped hands with Cloud. "It's been long enough." he finished and when he walked past Yuna his body vanished into a mist of pyreflies. As Yuna carried on with her sending dance the aeons could be seen also vanishing into a mist of pyreflies. Tidus was next on the list. His body became transparent and Rikku shouted "No! Please stay!" Tidus took her hands and said "I'm sorry I have to go. I promise you I will come back, some how, some way." and with that they locked lips. They carried on kissing until Tidus had completely disappeared. Cloud looked down and then walked to the end of the airship. "Bubby?" Wakka said curiously which was followed by Yuna saying "Cloud?"

From the ground green streams appeared and circled Cloud until they reached his chest where they split off into the air. "Lifestream?" Cloud muttered. He turned to face his friends and said "I'm sorry." "No!" Yuna shouted as she shook her head frantically. She ran straight to him attempting to jump into his arms however his body was no longer physical and she fell straight through him. Cloud's eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped. "I love you." she whispered from behind him. With all of his will power he turned around and made his body physical again. "I love you too." he told her as he kissed her passionately. Tears fell from her face rapidly. Cloud's time was up as his body lost it's physicality once again. "We'll meet again. I'm sure of it. But in the mean time, I'll see you around." Cloud said to the group as he turned away and walked to the end of the airship waving his hand behind him just as he disappeared into nothingness. Suddenly everything turned white and Cloud's mind was running around everywhere. All the memories and experiences would always stay with him. Out of no where everything turned normal and he stumbled forwards finding himself back on the overhanging cliff that used to house the Buster Sword and where all of this started. Cloud looked up and saw the familiar mako city of Midgar. He then looked down at his locket. Slowly he opened it and saw Yuna's face which left a smile on his face. "I will return...to Spira."

 _Cloud Strife isn't finished yet_

 **It's finally done! It's been so awesome writing this and it's given me a great experience. I just can't believe that it's all over! When I think back to when I posted the first chapter it felt like it was just yesterday and now the story is finished! You have all been amazing during the time I was writing this and I couldn't have hoped for so many followers and favourites on my very first story! I love you all and this is Tom signing out! Embrace your dreams and whatever happens protect your honour!**


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